Shia community of Gilgit-Baltistan has been holding protests in various parts of the region for over a week, demanding the release of 13 Shia men who were detained after being tried by military courts over their involvement in a 2005 clash between Rangers and the community during a protest.
The protests were in regards to an incident that took place on October 13, 2005, where personnel of the Rangers opened fire on members of a Shia community, resulting in the death of around 12 civillians, including women and children.
In the clash between the Rangers and the Shia community, two Rangers officials were reportedly also shot dead, which led to a case being filed against 13 men suspected to be behind the shooting.
According to an Express Tribune report, at least two rangers and 10 civilians were killed in the shoot-out. Four Rangers also were injured in the violence that erupted after leading Shia clerics were gunned down by armed men earlier the same year.
In 2015, the case was transferred to a military court. The suspects, including Mumtaz Kawish, Shabbir Rizvi, Zahid Hussain, Safdar Ali, Mujahid Ali, Ali Haider, Jamil Hussain, Ali Rehmat, Ghulam Abbas and Bilal Hussain, were on bail at that time.
The military courts found the suspects guilty and they were imprisoned. The Shia community has been protesting ever since, claiming that the 13 prisoners were tried through sham courts and sham cases, and should not have been tried by military courts, on account of their being civillians.
