Sunnis rejected this claim and said it was merely a change of Government. However, this did ring alarm bells in the Sunni world.

Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf countries poured money into Pakistan to fuel anti-Shia feelings among Sunnis.

Pakistan's then-military ruler General Ziaul Haq, who claimed he was Islamising Pakistan society, looked up to Saudi Arabia for help in his mission.

Saudi Arabia was more than willing now that Shias had taken over power next door and were poised to gain influence in the Muslim world over the Saudi influence.

With Saudi's help and promotion, Zia launched the Zakat fund and blessed the formation of anti-Shia "Sipah-e-Sahaba".

Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto also joined in to please Jamaat-e-Islami chief Maulana Abu-Ala Maududi to avert martial law.

Emboldened by the emergence of Shia power in Iran, Shias in Pakistan strongly resented Zia's Islamisation program which they said ignored Shia beliefs and practices.

It is the beliefs that broke up Muslims into Shias and Sunnis in the early days of Islam after the death of Prophet Mohammad. Shias believe that the leadership of Muslims should have gone to the Prophet's sonin-law Ali and his descendants.

Sunni extremists complain that Shias do not give equal respect to all the companions (Sahaba) of the Prophet and some Shia preachers even criticize them. It is hard for the extremists to digest the Shia community’s belief in further descendants of the Prophet.

Khaled Ahmed in his 2016 book, "Sleepwalking To Surrender - Dealing With Terrorism In Pakistan", writes about how Saudi Arabia funded General Ziaul Haq to launch a campaign against Shias' attitude to Sahaba.

General Zia helped create an organization by the name Sipah-i-Sahaba (SSP) for killing and maligning Shies.

Rafid Haq Nawaz Jhangi led the organization with the killing of Shias and demanding their ouster from Islam, just as they did with Ahmadiyya in 1974. Some activists of the SSP revolted against what they called the soft attitude towards Shias and launched Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, a dread for Shias.

It killed Shias across Pakistan as its service to Islam without fear of punishment. The Shia population is a matter of guess because the census in Pakistan is not conducted on a sectarian basis.

It is presumed that they account for 15 to 30 percent of the population of Pakistan.

The majority of Shias had come to Karachi after the Partition of India in 1947. They were influential businessmen belonging to the Bora and Khoja communities.

Pakistan's first Governor - General Mohammad Ali Jinnah was a Shia.

So was the country's first President (under the 1956 constitution) Major General Iskander Mirza. Shias’ tribulations in Pakistan started after General Zia staged his coup against the democratic Government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in July 1977.

Zia's Zakat Ordinance (1980) and his Blasphemy laws demoralized Shias.

They were caught for blasphemy for just naming the Sahabas! Shias suspect that the latest amendment in the blasphemy laws made before the dissolution of Shehbaz Sharif's government on August 9 is aimed at them.

Executive Director of Shia Muslim Foundation Rahat Hussain has written to Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Masood Khan on behalf of the Pakistani Shia Community in the US expressing Shias' fear about recent contemplation over the "Tauheen E Sahaba" bill.

The letter says the recent contemplation over the bill and law has been a cause for significant distress.

While Shias hold immense respect for the Sahaba, this bill raises genuine concern.

He wrote potential misuse of this law would be akin to the recent abuse of the blasphemy laws which tragically targeted Christian places of worship.

The letter regretted the persecution of Shias in Parachinar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and warned that such issues can lead to adversely impacting the economic progress and overall harmony of the nation.

The question is: Will Sunnis treat Shias as equal Muslims if they pledge equal respect for Sahaba? Seems doubtful.

The problem is hate which makes radical Pakistani Muslims feel close to their straitjacket religion.