[1] Founded by Pakistani cleric Haq Nawaz Jhangvi in 1989 after breaking away from Sunni Deobandi party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), it was based in Jhang, Punjab, but had offices in all of Pakistan's provinces and territories.

[2][3] It operated as a federal and provincial political party until it was banned and outlawed as a terrorist organization by Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf in 2002.

Even though it has been banned by the Pakistani government on numerous occasions, the Sipah-e-Sahaba has continued to operate under a different name throughout the country;[4][5] it has significant underground support in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

[5] After his death, Azam Tariq led the group until October 2003, when he was also killed in an attack widely attributed to the militant Shi'a organization Sipah-e-Muhammad, along with four others.

[1] (From 1985 to 2012) According to Stanford University "Mapping Militant Organizations writing as of February 2012, the "primary methods" of Sipah-e-Sahaba are targeted killings of prominent Shias – including political activists, doctors, businessmen and intellectuals .

[19] In addition to targeting Shias, the SSP has also been implicated in attacks on members of the Ahmadi sect and followers of the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam.

The SSP's actions have spurred a cycle of violence and assassinations and several of its leaders have been killed – including Haq Nawaz Jhangvi in 1990, Isar ul-Qasmi in 1991, Zia ul-Rehman Farooqi in 1997, and Azam Tariq in 2003.