This Response to Information Request corrects and replaces PAK19522.E of 24 February 1995.

Teriq-e-Jafria was founded in 1979 by Mufti Jaffer Hussain as the Terik-i-Nifaz-i Fiqah-i-Jafriah (TNFJ) or Movement for the Implementation of the Shia Code (Islam and Islamic Groups 1992, 187). The spelling of its name varies from source to source. The group, which represents Shia Muslims, a minority in Pakistan, took for its inspiration the 1979 Iranian (Shia) revolution (ibid.) Sunni Muslims are the majority religious group in Pakistan, and since the early 1980s Shias have opposed the government's Islamization programme, which is perceived as biased in favour of the Sunni majority (ibid.).

In 1987 the TNFJ launched a political party "committed to the principles of Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini" (Political Handbook of the World: 1992 1992, 585). In 1988, TNFJ leader al-Hussaini was assassinated (Keesing's Oct. 1988, 36220). For further information on his assassination, please consult Response to Information Request PAK19520.E of 22 February.

The rise of Shia political activism has resulted in the creation of parallel Sunni groups and intensified Shia-Sunni conflict and violence in Pakistan (Islam and Islamic Groups 1992, 189). Since 1990 Tehriq-e-Jafria has participated in electoral politics as part of a coalition with Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (ibid, 187), and is sometimes referred to as the TJP or Tehrik-e-Jafria-e-Pakistan party (The Herald June 1994, 35).

For additional information on Tehriq-e-Jafria, its activities and relations with Sunni groups, please consult the attachments. However, no information could be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB on Tehriq-e-Jafria in the area of Multan.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

The Herald [Karachi]. June 1994. Vol. 25, No. 6. Aamer A. Khan. "Faction Replay."

Islam and Islamic Groups. 1992. Edited by Farzana Shaikh. The High, Harlow, Essex: Longman Group, UK.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. October 1988. Vol. 34, No. 10. "Sunni/Shia Clashes-Shooting of Pakistani Shia Leader."

Political Handbook of the World: 1992. 1992. Edited by Arthur S. Banks. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications.

Agence France Press (AFP). 18 February 1995. "Four Brothers Tortured and Shot Dead in Karachi."

_____. 3 October 1991. "Pakistani Senator Shot Dead." (NEXIS)

The Guardian [London]. 14 July 1992. Gerald Bourke. "Troops Intervene in Pakistan Clashes; Eight Die in Peshawar During Sunni-Shi'ite Gun Fights." (NEXIS)

The Herald [Karachi]. June 1994. Vol. 25, No. 6. Aamer Ahmed Khan. "The Rise of Sectarian Mafias," pp. 27-31.

_____. June 1994. Vol. 25, No. 6. Aamer Ahmed Khan. "Blind Faith," pp. 32-33.

_____. June 1994. Vol. 25, No. 6. Aamer Ahmed Khan. "Faction Replay," pp. 34-37.

_____. May 1994. Vol. 25, No. 5. Aamer Ahmed Khan. "The Blasphemy Law: The Bigot's Charter?" pp. 44-46b.

_____. May 1994. Vol. 25, No. 5. "Spewing Poison," p. 46.

Inter Press Service (IPS). 11 June 1994. Beena Sarwar. "Pakistan: Regional Powers Settling 1400-Year-Old Scores." (NEXIS)

Islam and Islamic Groups. 1992. Edited by Farzana Shaikh. The High, Harlow, Essex: Longman Group, UK, pp. 187-190.

Political Handbook of the World: 1992. 1992. Edited by Arthur S. Banks. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications, p. 585.

Religion in Politics: A World Guide. 1989. Edited by Stuart Mews. Chicago: St. James Press, pp. 204-210.

Reuters. 5 August 1991. BC Cycle. "Shia Militants Attack Pakistan Government Offices, 300 Arrested." (NEXIS)

_____. 11 September 1990. Ibrahim Khan. "Bhutto's Party Alliance with Others Ends Political Isolation." (NEXIS)

_____. 6 July 1987. AM Cycle. Raja Asghar. "Pakistani Shi'ites Demand Fresh Polls, More Political Say." (NEXIS)

_____. 12 July 1985. "600 Arrested After Shi'ite Violence in Pakistani City." (NEXIS)

Revolutionary and Dissident Movements. 1988. Edited by Henry W. Degenhardt. London: Longman Group UK, p. 265.

No reports of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) members being subjected to violence and/or threats at the hands of members of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and/or the Tehrik/Tanzim Nifaz Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) members/workers in the NWFP, especially in the district of Swat, could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Amnesty International Report 1999. 1999.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998. 1999.

The Herald [Karachi]. Monthly. July-December 1997, February 1998, April 1998, January-June 1999.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). February 1998.

State of Human Rights in 1997.

HRCP Newsletter [Lahore]. Quarterly. October 1997, April 1998, July 1998, April 1999.
Jilani, Hina. 1998.

Human Rights and Democratic Development in Pakistan.

PPP official Website.

Resource Centre. "Pakistan" country file. February 1998-present.

Electronic sources: Internet, IRB Databases, NEXIS.

Non-documentary sources:

Unsuccessful attempts to contact the PPP office in Islamabad.