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Tuesday, June 14, 2011 |
Terrorists chalk out plan to target Ahmedis
By Afnan Khan
LAHORE: Terrorists have chalked out a plan regarding target killings of prominent members of the Ahmedi community in the country, starting from Faisalabad, which is the second biggest industrial hub of the province and hometown of Punjab Law Minister, Rana Sanaullah.
Sources in the local law enforcement agencies also revealed that different terrorist organisations have joined together in the mission and they have initiated the campaign through distribution of pamphlets and organising conferences in local seminaries against the Ahmedis.
They also issued a list of prominent Ahmedi businessmen living in Faisalabad and surrounding areas by mentioning their names and addresses, saying that the Ahmedi citizens of the country were involved in conspiracies against Islam and Pakistan.
The pamphlets, containing hit-list of locals who have been working and living in the areas since generations, also state that the act of killing an Ahmedi made an individual a holy warrior and the person who would do so would also be blessed by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) on the Day of Judgment.
“O Muslim brothers. There are some people among us who are misguiding us and their punishment is death,” one of the pamphlets read, further asking if there was anybody who had the courage to teach the Ahmedis a lesson.
The distributed hate material urges people to wake up, become fearless holy warriors and start killing Ahmedis.
One of the pamphlets was distributed by an extremist group named All Pakistan Students Khatam-e-Nabuwat Federation. The hit-list of Ahmedi citizens not only contains names of 32 prominent businessmen but also comprises senior teachers and prominent doctors. Some of the local Ahmedis, while talking to told Daily Times, said, that they had remained a victim of constant persecution by the state and terrorists for decades but none of the previous incidents matched this newly organised campaign against them.
They added that they had informed the government and law enforcement authorities about the threats but to no avail. They said that the local Ahmedis are living under extreme tension after knowing about this campaign and there is no surety from any side, be it the government or any other concerned authority.
Asian Human Rights Commission Representative, Baseer Naveed, told Daily Times that it was a matter of serious concern that these pamphlets were being distributed openly in a city from where more than four ministers were in the cabinets of Punjab and the federal government. He said that the local Ahmedis had requested these ministers many a times in the past to help them, however, they turned a deaf ear to all their appeals.
He stated that a large number of Ahmedis as well as Christians had been living in Faisalabad and its neighbouring cities since the past many years, however, recently the killings, abductions and torture by extremists against these communities had increased under the very nose of the government.
Naveed added that it was a sorry state of affairs that our government had become so reckless that they would only bother to take any steps only when people sctually start getting murdered.
He said that it was astonishing that the Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and opposition leader in Punjab Assembly (PA), Raja Riaz, even though belonging to the same city, conveniently turned a blind eye to the entire situation. Sanaullah was also accused of having ties with a banned terrorist outfit in the area, whose operatives were also accused of planning, executing and leading the massacre of Christians in Gojra in 2009.
However, Punjab government spokesperson and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Pervaiz Rashid told Daily Times that he was not aware about the issue but will immediately ask the local law enforcers to probe and take action against these hate mongers.
He said that the Punjab government had a clear policy regarding protecting the rights of each and every citizen and they will not let these terrorists hijack the whole society. He said that these are the same people who were involved in bombing mosques, shrines and other religious places and their sole aim is to sabotage the country but the government will deal with these people through iron hands.
Sources in the local law enforcement agencies also revealed that different terrorist organisations have joined together in the mission and they have initiated the campaign through distribution of pamphlets and organising conferences in local seminaries against the Ahmedis.
They also issued a list of prominent Ahmedi businessmen living in Faisalabad and surrounding areas by mentioning their names and addresses, saying that the Ahmedi citizens of the country were involved in conspiracies against Islam and Pakistan.
The pamphlets, containing hit-list of locals who have been working and living in the areas since generations, also state that the act of killing an Ahmedi made an individual a holy warrior and the person who would do so would also be blessed by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) on the Day of Judgment.
“O Muslim brothers. There are some people among us who are misguiding us and their punishment is death,” one of the pamphlets read, further asking if there was anybody who had the courage to teach the Ahmedis a lesson.
The distributed hate material urges people to wake up, become fearless holy warriors and start killing Ahmedis.
One of the pamphlets was distributed by an extremist group named All Pakistan Students Khatam-e-Nabuwat Federation. The hit-list of Ahmedi citizens not only contains names of 32 prominent businessmen but also comprises senior teachers and prominent doctors. Some of the local Ahmedis, while talking to told Daily Times, said, that they had remained a victim of constant persecution by the state and terrorists for decades but none of the previous incidents matched this newly organised campaign against them.
They added that they had informed the government and law enforcement authorities about the threats but to no avail. They said that the local Ahmedis are living under extreme tension after knowing about this campaign and there is no surety from any side, be it the government or any other concerned authority.
Asian Human Rights Commission Representative, Baseer Naveed, told Daily Times that it was a matter of serious concern that these pamphlets were being distributed openly in a city from where more than four ministers were in the cabinets of Punjab and the federal government. He said that the local Ahmedis had requested these ministers many a times in the past to help them, however, they turned a deaf ear to all their appeals.
He stated that a large number of Ahmedis as well as Christians had been living in Faisalabad and its neighbouring cities since the past many years, however, recently the killings, abductions and torture by extremists against these communities had increased under the very nose of the government.
Naveed added that it was a sorry state of affairs that our government had become so reckless that they would only bother to take any steps only when people sctually start getting murdered.
He said that it was astonishing that the Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and opposition leader in Punjab Assembly (PA), Raja Riaz, even though belonging to the same city, conveniently turned a blind eye to the entire situation. Sanaullah was also accused of having ties with a banned terrorist outfit in the area, whose operatives were also accused of planning, executing and leading the massacre of Christians in Gojra in 2009.
However, Punjab government spokesperson and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Pervaiz Rashid told Daily Times that he was not aware about the issue but will immediately ask the local law enforcers to probe and take action against these hate mongers.
He said that the Punjab government had a clear policy regarding protecting the rights of each and every citizen and they will not let these terrorists hijack the whole society. He said that these are the same people who were involved in bombing mosques, shrines and other religious places and their sole aim is to sabotage the country but the government will deal with these people through iron hands.
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