GARAM CHASHMA: A mediation meeting held to resolve the growing dispute over the butcher trade between members of the Ismaili and Sunni communities ended inconclusively after seven hours of discussion on May 18.
The meeting, attended by the district administration, religious leaders, and community representatives, failed to reach a mutual agreement despite deliberating over multiple proposed solutions.
Garam Chashma, a town with a 98% Ismaili majority, has seen rising tension over the right of Ismaili Muslims to operate butcher shops. Ismaili representatives argue that as lawful Pakistani citizens and Muslims, they are constitutionally entitled to engage in any legal business, including the sale of meat.
However, JUI-F leaders claim that meat of animals slaughtered by Ismailis and supplied from Garam Chashma to Chitral Bazaar, Drosh, and other areas is not \”halal\” by their interpretation.
They insist that meat prepared by Ismailis is impermissible for consumption by other Muslims and have demanded that the community refrain from engaging in the butcher profession.
\”We are trying to save the Ummah from sin,\” said one JUI-F representative.
The meeting was attended by a 12-member delegation from JUI-F led by former MPA Maulana Abdul Rehman, President of the Ismaili Council Lower Chitral Zafar Ahmad, local leaders from Lotkoh, and officers from the district administration, including the additional deputy commissioner (ADC).
Four options were discussed during the meeting: Restoring the March 8, 2025 agreement: both communities would be allowed to operate butcher shops freely in their chosen areas; labelled butcher shops; separate signage such as \”Ismaili butcher shop\” and \”Sunni butcher shop\” would be displayed to let customers choose accordingly.
Moreover, revival of the 2002 arrangement under which Ismaili butchers would operate in the upper market (beyond Panchkohi canal), Sunnis in the lower market, and a buffer zone maintained between the two.
Another proposal was, closing butcher shops in the bazaar Altogether and limiting meat sales to rural areas only.
However, no consensus was reached, and it was decided that more time was needed for deliberation. The meeting has been adjourned until Thursday.
Meanwhile, youth from the Ismaili community have voiced deep concern over the sudden escalation of the issue. Speaking to Chitral Today correspondent, many locals noted that sectarian harmony had traditionally prevailed in the region, where Sunnis and Ismailis had long coexisted peacefully, even sharing meals and homes.
They accused certain elements of manufacturing a controversy where none existed before and warned that such actions risk undermining decades of communal harmony.
The youth also questioned why the district administration was being pressured to reconsider a mutually agreed and documented settlement from March 2025.
“If a signed agreement exists, revisiting it under pressure challenges the very principles of constitutional rule and governance,” one said.