ABSTRACT
The majority of the Indian Shi'is backed the demand for Pakistan, and they subsequently migrated to Pakistan in large numbers from practically all parts of the subcontinent. Many Shi'is expected that with independence, they would win full recognition as the equals of their Sunni compatriots. The seizure of power by General Zia in July 1977 was generally regarded with ominous apprehension by the Shi'i community. The Shi'i protest was directed against the proclamation of Islamic law according to the Hanafi fiqh, as well as against the high-handed attitude of General Zia, who had ordered that a unified syllabus for Sunni and Shi'i students be taught in schools. In August 1982, Shi'i divines from throughout Pakistan met in Murree to discuss the various challenges facing their community. Relations between Sunnis and Shi'is have usually been troubled on the Indian subcontinent, and at present they are at their lowest ebb.
