For minorities in Pakistan, persecution never ends

Pakistan Punjab

For minorities in Pakistan, persecution never ends

By Abdul Manan
Published: December 4, 2011

Dug out, desecrated graves at the Ahmadi graveyard.

DUNYAPUR: Even in death, the Ahmadiyya community faces persecution.

In a gruesome incident late Saturday night, 29 graves in an Ahmadi graveyard were desecrated in Dunyapur, district Lodhran, around 100 kilometres away from Multan.

The community’s spokesperson Saleemuddin told The Express Tribune that unidentified people entered the graveyard and broke the plaques (katbe) of a large number of graves, while digging around 29 others. Only two graves that were made of marble were left concrete, he said.

Saleemuddin said local representatives of the community have approached the police and submitted an application for legal action, but no investigation has been undertaken so far. Police officials have asked the community to first rebuild their graves after which the issue would be further investigated, he added.

DPO Lodhran Agha Muhammad Yusuf while talking to The Express Tribune confirmed that the graveyard had been desecrated, adding that the area’s DSP is looking into the matter. The DPO said he would look into the case after investigations are completed.

The graveyard is said to be established in 1976, but Saleemuddin claimed that said it was made 80 years ago.

Religious tension is high in Dunyapur where around 15 families belonging to the Ahmadiyya community reside.

Saleemuddin said that around six months ago, a private school run by a member of the Ahmadiyya community was forcefully closed down by residents. People took to the streets and to shut the school where many Muslim children were being educated free of cost, he said.

The next face of persecution may be the take over business and properties of the community, he feared.

Unfortunately, this is not the first such incident. Around two months ago, another Ahmadi graveyard located in Haveli Majokan district Sargodha was dug up, humiliating and angering community members.

He said the incidents of desecrating graves of the Ahmadiyya community have increased over the last few months. He said that till now, a total of 30 such cases have been recorded in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2011.

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/?p=302105

Khatam-e-Nabuwat Conference: Ahmadis accused of working against Pakistan

Pakistan Punjab

Khatam-e-Nabuwat Conference: Ahmadis accused of working against Pakistan

By Shamsul Islam
Published: September 10, 2011

Three-day meeting ‘celebrates’ declaration of Ahmadis as minorities. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

MULTAN: “Ahmadis are part of a Jewish conspiracy against Islam and Pakistan and are responsible for sectarianism and terrorism in the country,” claimed religious leaders at the conclusion of a three-day-long Khatme Nabuwwat conference in Chiniot.

Over 450 processions and gatherings were organised in Punjab to mark the Khatme Nabuwat declaration by the Supreme Court that declared Ahmadis as ‘non-Muslims’ in 1974.

“The option available for Ahmadis is to accept Islam and abandon conspiracies against Muslims and Pakistan,” speakers at the conference said.

The government should keep a check on Ahmadis purchasing property in Pakistan, they suggested, stressing on “the need to declare Ahmadis as terrorists.”

Heralding the “sacrifices of the right-wing parties to define Islam and declare Ahmadis as minorities,” speakers at the conference vowed to “protect the religious identity of Pakistan in the world.”

In a “message” to the Ahmadis, the speakers said they should either “accept Islam” or their legal status as minorities in Pakistan and “obey” the constitution of Pakistan.

On an ending note, the speakers vowed to “continue [their] struggle against Ahmadis across the world.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10th, 2011.

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/249286/khatam-e-nabuwat...pakistan/

Excerpts from “State of Human Rights in 2009”

---Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

Introduction

Dastardly terrorist attacks, resulting in the killing of innocent citizens and law-enforcement personnel across the country, throughout the year 2009, constituted the greatest threat to fundamental rights of the citizens. Coming under attack from the security forces in their bastions in Swat and South Waziristan, the militant groups became desperate; they did not spare mosques, bazaars, religious minorities and educational institutions in their obvious bid to paralyse the state and all civilian life. The acts of terrorism and the state’s response to it are discussed in the chapter on Law and order.
………

The sad fact, however, was that the parliament did not pay adequate attention to the vital issues, quite a few of which affected national security, except for an initiative it took to address the uprising in Balochistan towards the end of the year. However, the so-called relief package, too, was yet to be implemented. The matters related to militancy and IDPs drew little attention from the law-makers. During the entire year, they did little law-making, passing only four acts while most of the legislation was done through Presidential ordinances. [See the chapters on ‘Laws and Law-making’ and ‘Political participation’]

The parliament and the executive also failed to take notice of the issues causing distress to the masses, allowing the superior judiciary to expand its jurisdiction and pass verdicts on a variety of subjects, such as determination of the prices of sugar and petrol etc. The Judiciary, on its part, was found short on its promises of expeditious disposal of cases and eradication of corruption in the judicial system. More than 1.5 million cases were pending in the courts at the end of 2009. The chapter on ‘Administration of Justice’ provides details.

In fact, the administration of justice required more than additional judges in courts and higher salaries for the judges. The other two organs of the justice system, police and jails, also needed to be overhauled. Jails were over-crowded and poorly administered. The police was short of personnel. It was also thoroughly corrupt and poorly trained. To check the crime rate, it relied on shortcuts like extra legal killings of the accused in the so-called encounters.……

An outright disrespect for fundamental rights, both by the state and the communal elements, was also visible in the crimes and excesses perpetrated against religious minorities. While the gangsters went on rampage in Gojra against Christians and in Karachi against Shias and looted or destroyed the properties of innocent businessmen, the police force apparently looked the other way. A factory-owner in Muridke was brutally murdered by a mob in the presence of policemen who stood by helplessly. This is obviously due to a lack of professionalism in the police force and absence of an effective institutional mechanism to supervise its functioning, which could ensure public safety and protection of fundamental rights of the citizens.

The Gojra and Muridke incidents, and dozens of cases implicating Ahmedis, also highlighted the misuse of the blasphemy laws, which over the years have been exploited by fanatics and vested interests to perpetuate a reign of terror against the minorities. The government was again too timid to take on the obscurantist elements and make amendments in the law. It could not even enforce the law banning the misuse of loudspeakers that the miscreants employed with impunity to incite the people to violence in both the gory incidents.

The state’s abdication of its responsibilities towards the welfare of the masses could be seen in areas of social and human development. At the end of the year under review, more than 3.5 million children were working as labour in the country in sheer violation of the law and the Constitution. The chapters on Education, Children and Labour provide the details. Public education sector stood ruined as a result of neglect over past several decades. The government did not even care to regulate the private sector schools in order to bring them under some regulatory framework. The same was the state of public healthcare, public transport and housing for the low-income groups. In Punjab, the alleged instances of neglect by private hospitals in providing treatment to patients triggered public protest, but the provincial assembly did not even discuss this issue of public concern.

In recent years, environmental degradation emerged as an issue of survival for Pakistanis, especially owing to acute water shortage, but no serious longterm planning was in sight. The year 2009 witnessed mass protests on the shortage of electricity and natural gas and the emerging trend indicated that in the coming years the people could be up in arms on the issue of water shortage if this issue was not tackled on time.

The media, despite all its shortcomings, played a major role in raising the issues of public interest and highlighted the lackadaisical performance of the government. In doing so, it earned the ire of the rulers. The politicians, who had benefitted from the media in the past during the harsh military regimes, found it hard to stomach its criticism. The media remained under attack from both the state and non-state actors and faced restrictions on free reporting in Balochistan and the tribal region. [The chapter on ‘Freedom of expression’ gives the details]

These issues of public interest on 18 different subjects were monitored and documented by HRCP all along the year as per its tradition since 1990. This book provides an overview of the human rights situation in 2009 besides a digest of the commission.s activities and stands during this period.

Adnan Adil
Editor

Highlights

• Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
• The year 2009 saw increasing frequency of organised violent attacks on religious minorities while the government failed to take proactive measures to prevent such violence in Gojra and Karachi.
• More than 41 complaints of blasphemy were reported during the year.
• At least five members of the Ahmadi sect were murdered in target killings in 2009, raising to 100 the number of killings since the introduction of anti-Ahmadiyya laws by the Ziaul Haq government in 1984.
• In 2009, 15 incidents of sectarian violence took place in Balochistan in which 26 men were killed and two others injured.
• As the militancy surged in the northwestern parts of the country, enforced migration and displacement of thousands of people belonging to Christians, Sikhs and Hindu communities from Swat, Kohat and FATA was reported following threats by Islamist elements.
• A majority of Hindu women did not possess CNIC cards because of legal complications in registration of marriages.
• 37 Ahmadis were booked under the blasphemy laws during the year and fifty-seven Ahmadis were charged under Ahmadi-specific laws.
• Nearly 80 per cent of the minority population falls below the poverty line and it has usually been ignored during the various government support programmes.

Administration of justice

Promotion of Ahmedi officer

Shaukat Ali Wahla, an Ahmedi employed at the Auqaf Department, was promoted as superintendent in BPS 16. In August 1996, the order of his promotion was recalled on the ground that the Punjab Waqf properties Ordinance did not allow the promotion of a non-Muslim as an officer. Wahla came to the Lahore High Court and it granted him relief on the ground that he had been penalised without being heard. Following the Court judgement, the Auqaf Department withdrew its impugned order and promoted Wahla to BPS 17 and also allowed him selection grade. In 2001, the department again started proceedings against him and to meet the requirement of giving him a hearing, issued him a show cause notice. In January 2002, the Department held that Wahla.s promotion as Superintendent was illegal and the order of his promotion was withdrawn. Wahla again appealed to the Lahore High Court and the court again held the order of the department illegal. In 2009, LHC held the recall illegal saying discrimination on the basis of religion was against Article 27(1) of the Constitution. Auqaf Department moved the SC against the LHC judgement.

Fundamental freedoms
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion

… It is the will of the people of Pakistan to establish an order … wherein shall be guaranteed fundamental rights, including equality of status, of opportunity and before law, social, economic and political justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship and association, subject to law and public morality
Constitution of Pakistan
Preamble

Subject to law, public order and morality (a) every citizen shall have the right to profess, practise and propagate his religion; and (b) every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions.
Article 20

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 1

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 18

No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have a religion or belief of his choice.

No one shall be subject to discrimination by any state, institution, group of persons, or person on the grounds of religion or other belief.

UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of
Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief
Articles 1(2) and 2(1)

In an xenophobic atmosphere, created and promoted by conservative clerics and a section of the media religious minorities are viewed with suspicion and mistrust. They are seen as constantly conspiring against Islam, Muslims and Pakistan in cahoot with the infidel foreign powers, especially the West. An imaginary combine of Hunud-o-Yahud-o-Nasara (Hindus, Jews and Christians) is supposed to be conspiring against Pakistani Muslims all the time in collaboration with the local minorities. This world view propagated on a large scale, coupled with an unfavourable legal regime, has made life difficult for the non-Muslim citizens. They cannot freely practise their religion and present their point of view without risking their life, honour and property as is evident from attacks on them.

The year 2009 saw an increase in violent attacks on religious minorities while the government failed to take effective preventive measures. The growing intolerance of religious minorities. rights, increased frequency of vigilante actions against them and attacks on non-Muslims over allegations of blasphemy and desecration of religious scriptures caused serious hardships to them. As the Pakistan army and paramilitary forces conducted military operations against the Taliban networks in Swat and other tribal areas including South Waziristan, the militants struck with vengeance, in other parts of the country, at non-Muslim minorities, as well as the Muslim minority Shia sect.

The systematic manner in which the Christian colony in Gojra and the shops in Bolton Market in Karachi were burnt down indicated the involvement of organized and trained militants. It was widely believed that indigenous militant organizations (already banned) were behind these attacks. That these organizations had close connections with the Taliban militants and al-Qeada was no secret. The role of main religio-political parties was mostly inimical to religious minorities. These parties did not condemn the violence against the minorities and often advanced conspiracy theories about foreign hands being behind violence against minorities. In some cases, the seminaries closely connected with religio-political parties were used to foment trouble against the minority communities. On the other hand, the government response, mostly in the form of belated announcements of financial compensation and some attempts at encouraging reconciliation at the local level, had usually been insufficient and reactive.

Freedom of Religion

Ahmadis

As the most vulnerable community in Pakistan the Ahmadis continued to face discrimination and violence throughout the year. The blasphemy laws were widely used against them as five Ahmedi citizens were murdered in target killings in 2009, raising to 100 their casualties since the introduction of anti-Ahmadiya laws by the Ziaul Haq regime in 1984.

Cases on religious grounds and blasphemy victims

The blasphemy law proved to be a major contributor to the minorities. woes during the year as the Gojra carnage demonstrated. In 2009, a total of 41 complaints of blasphemy were registered by police. Some 37 Ahmedis were booked under blasphemy laws and 57 Ahmedis were charged under Ahmedi-specific laws. However, many cases were registered against Muslims as the rival sects of Islam increasingly used the blasphemy law against each other, as may be seen in the account given below:

January 2: The Sargodha police booked two men, Mushtaq Ahmed and Muhammad Ali, on the charges of erasing kalma from the wall of a village mosque.

January 12: A man named Liaquat, was arrested by the police for allegedly burning the Quran in Panwan village near Manawala, Sheikhupura district.

January 17: Chichawatni police booked two men, Pir Syed Athar Shah Naqvi and Syed Ismail Shah, on the charge of committing blasphemy in their speeches on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Hazrat Ali. A cleric belonging to Sunni-Deobandi sect, Mufti Muhammad Usman, had filed a complaint against the two men belonging to the Sunni-Barelvi sect. Two days later, the workers of Jamaat Ahle Sunnat and the Anjuman Tajiran Chichawatni staged a protest demonstration outside the office of the district police officer in Sahiwal against wrongly implicating Pir Athar Shah. The sessions judge at Khanewal dismissed the bail application of the accused and the police arrested one of them.

January 19: A petition was moved in the Lahore High Court against Qurban Ali, the principal of a private education trust in Lahore, for allegedly committing blasphemy by writing a book, titled ‘Hero and Role Model’ in which he listed his six top heroes of the world including Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and himself. Muhammad Younas, Khateeb at a mosque moved the police for the registration of a case. On 18 February, an additional sessions judge, ordered police to register a case against the accused on blasphemy charges.

January 28: Five Ahmedis, including four children, were charged with blasphemy under section 295-C in Chak 172-TDA, in Layyah district. However, the police foiled an attempt by the members of a banned organisation to torch the houses of the people belonging to the Ahmediya community. The four children remained behind the bars for six months.

January 30: Businesses were closed down and protest demonstrations were staged in Mandi Bhauddin (Punjab) against the alleged defiling of the Quran a day earlier.

January 31: Ahsan Tahami, a librarian at the Quaid-e-Azam Library, Lahore, was booked for uttering blasphemous words in a discussion. He fled his home along with his family and went into hiding.

February 5: Muntazirul Haq Shahjehan, a police officer and station house officer (SHO) at Raja Jang police station, was booked on blasphemy charges on the complaint of a local journalist.

February 6: Several political and religious parties staged a demonstration in Quetta against alleged desecration of Holy Quran in Zhob and urged the government to probe the incident.

February 9: Muazaffarabd police registered a case against the sellers of a book allegedly containing blasphemy material. The accused got pre-arrest bail from a court.

February 16: The District and Sessions Judge, Jhelum, heard a case relating to blasphemy charges against one, Khalid Naqash, who had written a book titled, ‘Quran aur Hum’. It was alleged that the book contained blasphemous content about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Another man, Muhammad Afzal, who had written the preamble of the book, was also arrested along with the author.

February 18: Clerics in Raiwind called upon the government to register a case and punish those responsible for alleged desecration of Holy Quran in a private hospital at Syeda Waheeda Memorial Nursing College, Raiwind Road Lahore, run by Fatima Memorial Hospital Lahore. It was alleged that some Christian students had placed Quran in shoe boxes. As the clerics protest mounted, the college administration closed down the institution for fear of unrest and violence.

March 1: The Kasur police arrested two Christian men, Wilayat Masih and Mushtaq Masih, on blasphemy charges in Malloki village. The accused were charged that they had covered the grave of a Christian relative with a cloth inscribed with Quranic verses.

March 11: Police booked 25 people on blasphemy charges and arrested four of them in Chak 33 in Kanganpur area, Kasur district. The accused belonged to Ahl-e-Hadith sect and the complainant to Sunni-Barelvi sect.

March 12: Police registered a case under section 295 and 295-A of the PPC against unidentified people for writing blasphemous words on street walls of Umerkot and Mirwah Gorchani on March 10. Hundreds of people protested against the alleged blasphemy, attacked petrol pumps and shops and blocked main highways.

March 23: Police booked four Muslim men for attacking a religious congregation of a different sect and allegedly uttering blasphemous words against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Pattoki, Kasur district. Two of the accused, Rana Naeem and Rana Zahoor, were arrested.

March 27: One Irfan was arrested by the police on the charge of burning a Quran in Mohallah Sabri Colony, Okara.

April 4: Anees Mallah, (25) who was facing blasphemy charges, was found dead in Sanghar jail. He had been moved there only a day earlier from Mirpur Khas, where he had spent almost a year in prison. Anees’s lawyer said he was subjected to torture, shot and afterwards slaughtered brutally in the jail by some jail inmates. His elder brother, Ghulam Rasool Mallah, said Anees was wrongly implicated in a blasphemy case in March 2008 and murdered inside the jail. He said even medico-legal officers were afraid to issue a report about the cause of the death. He said on March 21 2008, his brother’s motorbike had crashed into a gate erected for a Milad function which angered the organisers and they implicated him in a blasphemy case.

April 7: Lahore High Court’s Bahawalpur bench rejected a bail plea of Haider Zaman, accused of blasphemy, and sent him to prison. A mob of baton-wielding students of local seminaries surrounded the court during the hearing and chanted slogans asking the court to award death sentence to the accused. Afterwards, on 30 June, a threemember bench of the Supreme Court also rejected his bail plea and ordered the Bahawalnagar trial court to complete the hearing within three months.

April 8: Police registered a case against a Muslim woman, Ameera Bibi, on blasphemy charges, under sections 290-A and 295-C of PPC, on the direction of a court in Chowk Azam, Layyah district for saying derogatory remarks against God and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). A local man, Shabbir Shah, was the complainant.

April 10: An additional district and sessions judge at Kamalia (Punjab) ordered the city police to register a case against two Shia clerics, Imran Rizvi and Asif Raza Alvi, on blasphemy charges on the complaint of clerics from a rival Sunni sect.

April 13: Police booked and arrested Bilal Tahir Khawaja, owner of a football manufacturing factory, on blasphemy charge under section 295-A for printing holy Islamic names on footballs. No lawyer represented the accused in the court as Daska lawyers association assured the complainant clerics that the bar would not provide legal assistance to the accused.

April 14: Clerics belonging to Tehreek-e-Tahfuzz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat (Movement for the protection of sanctity of Prophet (PBUH), moved Lahore High Court to get a blasphemy case registered against the owner of a textile mills in Faisalabad. The petitioners alleged the factory had printed the name of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on bed sheets and thus committed blasphemy.

April 21: The Supreme Court (Shariat Appellate Bench) rejected an appeal against a Federal Shariat Court (FSC) ruling that death is the only punishment that the Islamic law provides for blasphemy. The appeal had been filed by Bishop Dani L. Tasleem 18 years ago after the FSC gave the judgment in exercise of its powers to determine if the existing laws conformed to Sharia. The appellant could not pursue the petition as he had died.

April 25: Twelve Christian families in Chak 190/AL village of Sahiwal left their homes in a bid to save their lives on receiving life threats from other Christians and Muslims — who alleged that these families had committed blasphemy by throwing ink on the Holy Quran. The village had a huge Christian population. Unidentified people had broken into Harappa Government Community Model Girls Primary School in the village. In the morning, students found on the ground a page of the Holy Quran smeared with black ink and gum. The words on the blackboard led to the assumption that a Christian was responsible for what had happened.

May 9: The Pasrur Police registered a case against a Shia cleric who was accused of saying something derogatory about the companions of the Prophet (PBUH) during a speech.

May 30: A mob staged a protest demonstration in Sukkur against a doctor belonging to Hindu faith. A medical representative, Asghar Channa, complained that assistant professor Pawan Kumar of Ghulam Muhammad Medical College had allegedly uttered blasphemous words against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The protesters dispersed after the police assured them that a case would be registered against the accused. Afterwards, the police registered a case on blasphemy charges against him. On 23 June, a Sukkur magistrate ordered the police to present the challan against the accused.

June 27: Bashir Ahmed, imprisoned in Dera Ghazi Khan Jail and facing trial on the charges of saying disrespectful words against the companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), was slaughtered by another prisoner with a sharp razor inside the jail.

July 1: A young man, Imran Masih, was captured by a mob and tortured on the charge of burning the Quran and Islamic books in Faisalabad. Police arrested the man and registered a case against him.

July 9: The Talagang police in Chakwal district registered a case on blasphemy charges, under sections 295-A and 295-C, against a man, Pir Muhammad Ishaq, who allegedly claimed to be God and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

July 18: FIA Karachi arrested a man, Murad, resident of Gizri, on the complaint of journalist Ansar Abbasi who allegedly received hate mails from him. The accused was also charged with publishing blasphemous material against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on a website.

July 26: Workers belonging to Sunni Tehreek staged a protest demonstration and blocked the main Sheikhupura highway in Khararianwala area in Faisalabad district to pressurise the local police for registering a case against 32 Ahmedis, of 194 RB village, on the charge of writing Quranic verses on the outer walls of their houses. The Police registered a case under sections 295-A and 295-C.

July 27: The Sambrial police registered a case under section 295-B, against a man named Maqsood Ahmed, on the charges of desecrating the Quran in Chak Ikhtiar near Sambrial in Sialkot district. The next day, a civil judge sent the accused on 14-day judicial remand.

July 28: Police arrested a man, Amir Haider, on the charge of sending a message allegedly derogatory against the companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

August 5: A mob surrounded the house of a middle aged woman, Akhtari Malkani, in a katchi abadi in Sanghar, Sindh on the charge that she had desecrated the Quran. Police took the woman into custody to save her from the mob and assured protesters that if evidence was found it would register a case against her. Angry protesters, demanding the custody of the woman, threw stones at the police station and burnt tyres on the road. Police shot in the air to disperse the crowd. Afterwards, the complainant, Siddique Arain, a shopkeeper, who had some monetary dispute with the accused, disappeared when the police contacted him to file a complaint against Ms Malkani. The woman told the police she had thrown an account book on the ground, not the Quran as the complainant initially accused her, provoking the protests. A 10 member committee headed by the Sanghar Taluka Nazim, absolved the woman of the blasphemy charge after initial investigation and interviews with the witnesses.

September 4: A couple was booked and arrested in Jamber village in Phoolnagar, Kasur district, on the charge of declaring their 10-month-old son Imam Mehdi. More than 500 villagers protested against Abdullah and his wife, Shazia, and blocked the main highway demanding a blasphemy case be registered under 295-C against them.

September 11: A mob torched a local Catholic church in Jaithikey-Sambrial, in Sambrial Tehsil of Daska district over alleged desecration of the Holy Quran in the village. A Christian young man, Robert Fanish Masih, 25, was accused of snatching a chapter of the Holy Quran from a local girl and throwing it into a drain. After the alleged incident, local Muslims armed with bricks, stones and sticks attacked the church. They set it ablaze by sprinkling petrol and kerosene oil on it. As no person was present in the church, no casualty took place. Meanwhile, the agitators led by local clerics took out rallies demanding immediate arrest of the accused persons. All the shops and markets remained closed in the village and its surrounding areas while thousands of scared villagers locked themselves up in their homes. The Christian community left the troubled area immediately to save their lives. One day later, the police arrested the accused who was found dead on 15 September in Sialkot Jail. When his family took his body for burial in the native village, a mob attacked the funeral procession, snatched the body and dragged it on the road. He was finally buried in Sialkot district.

October 30: Police registered a blasphemy case against Qaisar Ali Haideri, the author of a book, on the complaint of Mumtaz Ahmed Dar in Kotla Arab Ali, Gujrat district. On 11 November, hundreds of people brought out a procession against the police for not arresting the accused.

November 1: Police arrested a man, Sadiq Abbas, and registered a case against him on the charge of burning dozens of copies of Quran in a mosque in Chak 302 JB, Noorpur in Toba Tek Singh district.

November 11: Gojra Additional District and Sessions Judge handed down death sentence and fined Rs100,000 to a blasphemy accused, Muhammad Aslam of Shahabad Colony, on the charge of using blasphemous language publicly on Oct 5, 2008. The court allowed the convict to file an appeal against the sentence before the Lahore High Court within a week.

Damages to and acquisition of places of worship

……
In June, an Ahmediya graveyard in Pir Mahal, Toba Tek Singh, was attacked and desecrated by rioters following which the authorities cancelled the land allotment order issued to the Ahmedis 20 years ago.

During 2009, in Lahore, Ahmedi worship places in Model Town repeatedly received threats from the conservative religious groups and hate campaigns were conducted against the community through wall-chalking, posters and pamphlets.

Violence against Ahmedis

January 19: An Ahmedi, Saeed Ahmad, was killed in Kotri (Sindh).

February 20: Mubashir Ahmed was shot dead in Karachi.

February 25: A murder attempt was made on Muhammad Iqbal Abid, an Ahmedi religious teacher in Vehari.

March 14: Shiraz Bajwa and his wife Noreen Bajwa, both doctors, were brutally murdered in Multan.

April 1: Bashir Ahmed, Advocate, President of the local Ahmadiyya community, Achini Payan, near Peshawar, was abducted and had not been recovered till Dec 31 2009.

May 8: A well known Ahmedi trader, Mian Laiq Ahmad, was attacked in Faisalabad by three armed men while sitting in his car. The armed men blocked the road to his house and shot him dead.

May 9: Rashid Karim, a well-known Ahmedi in Faisalabad, was abducted and released after five months on the payment of a heavy ransom.

June 24: Two Ahmedis, Khalid Rasheed and Zafar Iqbal, were shot dead in Quetta.

July 6: Rana Ata-ul-Karim was murdered in Multan.

August 6: An Ahmedi, Rana Ata-ul Karim, was shot dead after his wife was harassed by three Muslim extremists in Multan.

August 7: Two Ahmedis were assaulted for their faith in Nankana Sahab near Lahore.

August 12: Javed Ahmed escaped a murder attempt in Kunri (Sindh).

September 11: Zulfiquar Mansur was abducted in Quetta and a month later his dead body was found on the roadside on the city.s outskirts.

September 26: Ahmed Farooqi was shot dead in Uch Sharif, Bahawalpur.

November 25: Dr Pervaiz Zareef of Bhati Gate, Lahore narrowly escaped an attempt on his life.

November 26: Rana Saleem Ahmad, the Deputy Amir of Jamaat Ahmediya Sanghar, was shot at and killed.

Activities inciting religious intolerance were ignored rather than punished, often leading to serious consequences

Major incidents of violence against religious minorities

The Layyah incident

On January 28, a case under Section 295-C of the Penal Code was registered against five men belonging to the Ahmediya community at Kot Sultan police station of Layyah district where around half a dozen Ahmediya families lived.

Four of the accused were boys studying at matriculation level. They were accused of writing the name of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on the walls of a mosque’s toilet in village 172/TDA. Although the accused denied the allegation made against them, they were arrested and detained. The fifth accused was a labourer.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) fact-finding mission sent to Layyah on February 1, 2009, a few days prior to the lodging of the FIR, a resident of Chak 173/TDA named Muhammad Safdar saw the name of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) written on the mosque’s toilet. He told the prayer leader, Qari Muhammad Saeed, about the writing. According to Masood Ahmed, representative of the Ahmadiyya community in Layyah, six Ahmadi families had been living in village 172/TDA for over 50 years and had had no dispute or enmity with any other community member.

The nazim of the area was asked to probe the matter. It was learnt that four students from the Ahmediya community, namely, Mohammad Irfan, Tahir Imran, Tahir Mehmood and Naseeb Ahmed, used to offer prayers in the mosque and also used its toilets. After the investigation, the Ahmedis were stopped from offering prayers in the mosque, and it was said the villagers believed that the Ahmedis, being the only non-Muslims coming to the mosque, must have committed the sacrilege.

After the registration of the case with the police, the Ahmediya community voluntarily handed over all those nominated in the FIR to the police. The students assured the authorities that they had not written the Prophet’s name in the mosque’s toilets nor had committed any other crime. The students told the authorities that their matriculation examination was due to begin on March 4 and requested to be released.

However, the accused were transferred from Kot Sultan police station, around 20 kilometers from the village, to Saddar police station in Layyah city. The HRCP team went to the police station and requested permission to talk to the accused, but the SHO turned down the request and said he was only responsible for the custody of the accused as it was not his police station.s case. However, the police and villagers conceded that there was no witness or evidence of the Ahmadis’ involvement in the alleged blasphemy and as required by law, no investigation was carried out by the SP investigation prior to the arrest of the accused. The bail applications of the boys were rejected quite a few times and they had to take their examination while in confinement. Eventually, they were granted bail after six months of their arrest.
……

Recommendations 

1. A transparent and fair investigation must be carried out soon after any attacks on minorities in order to enforce justice and ensure that innocent people are not victimized.
2. The prevailing blasphemy law is arbitrary and should be repealed. The allegations of blasphemy or defiling of religious scriptures, irrespective of their veracity, do not warrant vigilante attacks. Nor do they absolve the government of its primary duty to protect all citizens. Effective prosecution of offenders would serve as a deterrent to future attacks, while a lack of it would encourage impunity. The federal government must take action to ensure that laws on the statute books are not abused to harass or ostracize citizens.
3. Workshops should be held for school teachers and administrators to sensitise them to the issue of religious tolerance as they play a key role in building the school.s atmosphere and exercise considerable influence over their pupils. The government should adopt a policy of promoting extra-curricular activities to promote religious understanding and tolerance in schools. For example, Muslim students may be taken to places of worship of other religions like churches and temples to familiarize themselves with religious practices and customs of minority groups.
4. A strict check must be kept on the dissemination of literature and audio-visual material promoting hatred against any religious communities or sects.
5. Special steps are needed to check the persecution of Ahmadis.

Appendix - II
HRCP stands

Freedom of belief and religion

February 12: Five Ahmadis detained on charges of blasphemy in Layyah district have been held virtually without any proof or witnesses, HRCP has said.

The commission, which had sent a fact-finding team to Layyah district last week, said its findings concluded that an investigation, mandated by law prior to the registration of a blasphemy case, was also not held.

The HRCP team learned that a prayer leader in the village had allowed Ahmadi students from a nearby tuition centre to offer prayers in his mosque. The students were later threatened by a government schoolteacher and never went to the mosque again. Around 10 days later, some villagers claimed finding blasphemous writings in the mosque’s toilet.

In the First Information Report (FIR), the complainant said: “Since these Ahmadis are the only non-Muslims coming to the mosque, therefore they must have committed the offence”. The ‘argument’ was heard time and again during the HRCP team’s interviews with the mosque administration, some villagers and the local police.

The police and villagers conceded that there were no witnesses or evidence of the Ahmadis’ involvement. The HRCP team found elements belonging to banned extremist organisations and a relative of the National Assembly member from the area had pressurised the police to register a case. “It is clear that a local politician has also used his influence” to book the Ahmadis, the Commission’s report said.

HRCP said the complainant and his extremist supporters are adamant that the Ahmadis should be punished on the basis of presumption.

HRCP has demanded a prompt and transparent investigation into the matter to ensure that innocent people are not victimised. It has also demanded the government ensure that the Ahmadiyya community in the village is not harassed or ostracised. The Commission has also asked the government to take prompt measures to rule out misuse of the blasphemy law.

Ahmadis murdered for their faith in Pakistan during 2009 - A Report

---Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat International, UK

Ahmadis murdered for their faith in Pakistan during 2009
- A Report

The persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Pakistan continued to escalate during 2009. During the year 11 Ahmadis were murdered simply because they were members of the Jamaat. This report highlights the brutal, barbaric and evil attacks that led to the death of those 11 people.

These 11 persons followed the example of countless Ahmadis before them in sacrificing their lives for the sake of their faith. Their deaths grieved not only their loved ones but all members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat worldwide. However Ahmadis will always show patience in the face of even the most difficult trials and remain consoled by the words of God Almighty :

“And say not of those who are slain in the way of Allah that they are dead; nay, they are living, only you perceive not.” (Holy Qur’an, Chapter 2, Verse 155)

AHMADIS MARTYRED IN 2009
NAME	DATE OF MURDER	LOCATION
Saeed Ahmad	19 January	Kotri, Sindh
Mubashar Ahmad	26 February	Karachi
Dr Shiraz Ahmad Bajwa	14 March	Multan
Dr Noreen Bajwa	14 March	Multan
Mian Laiq Ahmad	29 May	Faisalabad
Khalid Rasheed	24 June	Quetta
Zafar Iqbal	24 June	Quetta
Rana Ata-ul-Karim	6 August	Multan
Muhammad Azam Farooqi	26 September	Uch Sharif
Zulfiqar Mansur	11 October (body found)	Quetta
Rana Saleem Ahmad	26 November	Sanghar, Sindh

BY LOCATION AHMADIS KILLED IN 2009
LOCATION	NUMBER KILLED IN 09
Multan	3
Quetta	3
Sindh	2
Karachi	1
Faisalabad	1
Uch Sharif	1

MARTYRDOM OF MR SAEED AHMAD

(95th Ahmadi murdered for his faith since Ordinance XX passed in 1984)

DATE:	MONDAY, 19 JANUARY 2009
LOCATION:	KOTRI, SINDH PROVINCE

BACKGROUND:

In the year prior to this killing Kotri had become a hotbed for anti-Ahmadiyya sectarianism. The police and local judiciary were always informed of any incidents but remained hostile in their attitudes towards the Jamaat and failed to provide any form of adequate protection.

FACTS:

On the evening of 19th January 2009, Mr Saeed Ahmad, 55, had just returned from work and was about to enter his home when a person waiting for him fired a shotgun directly at his head. Mr Ahmad died on the spot. The attacker fled the scene. An First Information Report (FIR) was recorded against unknown persons. No arrest was made.

Survived by his wife and four children, Mr Ahmad was a very pious man and had no personal issues or disputes with anyone.

The family had migrated from Sakrand to Kotri in 1990. Mr Ahmad was duly buried at the Ahmadiyya Graveyard in Kot Gondal, District Hyderabad.

MARTYRDOM OF MR MUBASHAR AHMAD

(96th Ahmadi murdered for his faith since Ordinance XX passed in 1984)

DATE:	MONDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2009
LOCATION:	NEAR MANGHO PIR ROAD, KARACHI

BACKGROUND:

As in other parts of Pakistan the Jamaat had faced significant persecution in various parts of Karachi. Only months prior to this murder in 2008 both Mr Basharat Ahmad Mughal and Mr Sheikh Saeed Ahmad were killed in the city as violence against members of the Jamaat continued to increase

FACTS:

On 20th February 2009, Mr Mubashar Ahmad, 42, was returning home from work on his bicycle following completion of that day’s work at the Steel Rolling Mill, when two men appeared. They fired shots at him and then fled the scene.

Mr Ahmad was grievously injured by the attack and was subsequently taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. His injuries were too severe for him to be saved. He was pronounced dead before his relatives could reach the hospital.

Mr Ahmad was an ordinary Ahmadi Muslim. He had not grievance with anyone and none had any personal grievance with him, except perhaps from those unknown to him due to his faith. This had caused him to be subjected to various forms of persecution over a long period of time due to his chosen faith, which ultimately resulted in his murder. For example, at his work place he had received threats to his life and been subjected to a social boycott.

Mr Ahmad is survived by his wife and three children.

MARTYRDOMS OF DR SHIRAZ AHMAD BAJWA & DR NOREEN BAJWA

(97th & 98th Ahmadis murdered for their faith since
Ordinance XX passed in 1984)

DATE:	SATURDAY, 14 MARCH 2009
LOCATION:	WAPDA COLONY, MULTAN

BACKGROUND:

Prior to these killings it had been well known that sectarian and militant Muslim organisations had prepared a lengthy ‘hit-list’ of Ahmadiyya locations and leading personalities. This list was known to include, amongst others, well educated professionals who be2longed to the Jamaat. We have reason to believe that the names of Dr Shiraz Bajwa and Dr Noreen Bajwa were on such a list, probably due to the excellent services they were providing within their local community and consequently the respect that they were afforded by locals.

Multan also acts as the headquarters of an anti-Ahmadiyya organisation. The particular organisation makes no secret of its hatred of the Jamaat based purely on doctrinal differences. Due to the acts of the organisation the Jamaat has faced many incidents of persecution in the recent including a major effort of the local extremists to have the Jamaat’s prayer centre closed down.

FACTS:

The murders of the married couple Dr Shiraz Ahmad Bajwa (37) and Dr Noreen Bajwa (29) on 14 March 2009 were particularly brutal and barbaric.

Both husband and wife had returned to their home at Wapda Colony at around 2.45pm. Their home was in a seemingly very well protected residential area. Approximately one hour after they returned home, their maid found their tortured corpses . She immediately informed security staff.

The body of Dr Shiraz Bajwa was found lying in the bedroom, hands tied behind his back, mouth gagged, blindfolded and with visible marks of strangulation.

The body of Dr Noreen Bajwa was found in the living room, hands tied behind her back, mouth gagged, blind folded and bleeding from the nose.

Nothing was stolen from their home. All cash, jewellery and other valuables remained untouched.

Dr Shiraz Bajwa was an eye-specialist who had worked at many hospitals including the Fazl-e-Umar Hospital in Rabwah. Dr Noreen Bajwa worked at a local children’s hospital. Both of them had excellent academic and professional backgrounds and were popular amongst their colleagues. Though they had received threats due their religion they had never reacted to the severe provocation.

MARTYRDOM OF MR MIAN LAIQ AHMAD

(99th Ahmadi murdered for his faith since Ordinance XX passed in 1984)

DATE:	FRIDAY, 29 May 2009 (Martyr attacked on 28 May 2009)
LOCATION:	PEOPLE’S COLONY, FAISALABAD

BACKGROUND:

In the weeks prior to this barbaric killing, throughout Pakistan and particularly within Punjab, anti-Ahmadiyya conferences were taking place on a regular basis. Although such conferences had taken place for many years, prior to this killing they had increased greatly both in number and also in terms of the hateful content of the rallies.

It is of serious significance that one day prior to the attack such a conference hosted by Khatme Nabuwwat took place and was addressed by a number of well known extreme clerics. A report of this conference was given in The Daily Amman newspaper on 28 May 2009.

Faisalabad is a hub for Wahabi activism and politically speaking the PML(N) has a strong base in the area. Authorities maintain a permissive attitude towards agitation and harassment of the Jamaat. In addition to a number of killings that have taken place in recent years, a more recent phenomenon that runs in parallel to the strategy of outright murder, has been the abduction of Ahmadis present in the city. ††

FACTS:

On 29 May 2009, Mr Mian Laiq Ahmad (54) died after being attacked the previous evening.

On 28 May 2009 Mr Ahmad was returning to his home in People’s Colony when he saw a parked Toyota Corolla blocking the road outside his home. As Mr Ahmad neared his home he slowed down and at that point unknown persons jumped out of the Toyota and ran towards his car. Mr Ahmad tried to reverse his car but as he did so he was shot in the head. At that point the attackers got closer to Mr Ahmad and fired at his stomach and arms. The assailants fled the scene.

Mr Ahmad was immediately taken to the local hospital and thereafter transferred to the Allied Hospital. His injuries were too severe and at 11.30am on 29 May 2009 he was pronounced dead.

Mr Ahmad was survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters.

MARTYRDOMS OF MR KHALID RASHEED AND MR ZAFAR IQBAL

(100th & 101st Ahmadis murdered for their faith since
Ordinance XX passed in 1984)

DATE:	WEDNESDAY, 24 JUNE 2009
LOCATION:	QUETTA

BACKGROUND:

Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Quetta has a long and sad history. The first martyrdom of an Ahmadi in Pakistan occurred in the city when Major Mahmud Ahmad, an army doctor, was murdered for his faith in 1948. Since then, Ahmadis have long since been a targeted for persecution. The Jamaat as an organisation has not been immune; in 1986 violent riots erupted in opposition to the Jamaat resulting in the Ahmadiyya Mosque being sealed upon the demands of local clerics, preventing the practise by Ahmadis of their faith.

In this case, threats had been made via telephone to one of the deceased (Mr Zafar Iqbal) in the days prior to the killings. Mr Iqbal’s family has been no stranger to such persecution. Mr. Iqbal’s brother-in-law had also been killed because of his faith in Quetta four years previously.

FACTS:

On the evening of 24 June 2009 two Ahmadis, Mr Khalid Rasheed and Mr Zafar Iqbal were shot dead by unknown persons.

As per their routine, Mr Rasheed drove his colleague, Mr Iqbal, to his home. He stayed with him for about half an hour. As he was leaving suddenly unknown persons appeared and shot at both Ahmadis a number of times. They died instantaneously.

At the time of the attack, Mr Iqbal’s brother, Mubarak Ahmad, was also by his side. Two shots were also fired towards him but thankfully they missed.

Mr Khalid Rasheed was survived by his widow, who is a doctor, two infant daughters and one son.

Mr Zafar Iqbal was survived by his widow and three sons.

MARTYRDOM OF RANA ATA-UL-KARIM

(102nd Ahmadi murdered for his faith since
Ordinance XX passed in 1984)

DATE:	THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2009
LOCATION:	MULTAN

BACKGROUND:

Multan is the headquarters of an anti-Ahmadiyya extremist organisation. As reported previously in March 2009 a married Ahmadi couple were murdered for their faith.

In the days prior to this murder certain unknown persons were seen reconnoitring the residence of Mr Karim. Although Mr. Karim took a number of precautions, these ultimately proved to be futile against the determination of the assailants to murder him.

FACTS:

Mr Rana Ata-ul-Karim (36) was killed at his home on 6th August 2009 at around 10am.

On the morning of the incident Mr Karim left his property and whilst he was away three armed men entered his house. They locked his wife and children in one of the rooms and waited for the return of Mr Karim. His wife pleaded with the intruders to take whatever possessions they wanted and leave. That was not however their intention which was far more sinister.

As soon as Mr Karim returned to the house he was shot at three times. One bullet hit his neck damaging his windpipe, one hit his ear and the third hit his lower body damaging his kidneys. Mr Karim died instantaneously.

Mr Karim was a well known Ahmadi and very successful. He had a Master’s degree in agriculture and was in the business of production and distribution of poultry feeds and medicines.

Mr Karim was survived by his wife, one son (9) and two daughters (4 & 3).

MARTYRDOM OF MUHAMMAD AZAM FAROOQI

(103rd Ahmadi murdered for his faith since
Ordinance XX passed in 1984)

DATE:	SATURDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2009
LOCATION:	UCH SHARIF

BACKGROUND:

This murder was yet another provoked by the constant barrage of anti-Ahmadiyya hateful propaganda that permeates across all parts of Pakistan. Anti-Ahmadiyya conferences, anti-Ahmadiyya sermons and anti-Ahmadiyya literature regularly call for Ahmadis to be killed and Fatwas are granted stating that Ahmadis are ‘Wajibul Qatl’ that is that it is a religious duty to kill them. This is entirely untrue and a misrepresentation of Islam.

FACTS:

Mr Muhammad Azam Farooqi was murdered because of his faith on 26 September 2009 in the presence of his wife and daughter.

He was returning from a family wedding on his motorbike at 8.30pm when two unknown persons brandishing a firearm forced him to stop his vehicle. Because of the attack, Mr Farooqi, his wife and daughter, fell from the motorbike. As Mr Farooqi went to help his family the assailants stopped him and pointed a gun towards him. Mr Farooqi pleaded with them to take whatever they wanted and to leave him and his family alone. Ignoring the plea, one of the assailants shot him in the temple and he died on the spot in front of his wife and daughter. The assailants fled the scene without taking any possessions or money.

Mr Muhammad Azam Farooqi was survived by his wife, two sons and daughter.

Following this murder the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad commented upon this incident and spoke about the ongoing threat to Ahmadis in Pakistan. He said:

“The opponents of our Jamaat can murder a few of our members; they can loot Ahmadis of their wealth; they can destroy our buildings; they can stop us constructing mosques. But they can never weaken our faith…

“The members of the Jamaat worldwide need to focus on prayer. Because the way the situation is developing it seems that Ahmadis, particularly in Pakistan, are going to face increased cruelty and hardship. The ignorant opponents do not realise that their deeds are not harming our community but in fact are harming the country and society at large.”

(Friday Sermon 2 October 2009)

MARTYRDOM OF ZULFIQAR MANSOOR

(104th Ahmadi murdered for his faith since
Ordinance XX passed in 1984)

DATE:	SUNDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2009
LOCATION:	QUETTA

BACKGROUND:

This murder was preceded by the killings of two other relatives of Mr Mansur because of their faith. In April 2008 Mr Abbas Ahmad, the uncle of Mr Mansur, was killed in Quetta and then in June 2009 Mr Khalid Rasheed, another relative, was also killed in the city.

FACTS:

The body of Mr Zulfiqar Mansur (35) was found lying in the suburbs of the city on 11 October 2009. He had been shot three times, including in the eye.

Mr Mansur had been abducted one month previously when on 11 September 2009 he was abducted by armed persons as he left home in his car. The abductors then contacted Mr Mansur’s family and demanded 150million Pakistan Rupees. The abductors repeatedly referred to the ‘Qadianism’ of the family as a means of justifying their acts.

The original demand was totally beyond the capacity of the family, however negotiations continued during the following weeks and agreement was reached. The demands were met, however the abductors chose not to abide by the agreement and brutally killed Mr Mansur anyway.

Mr Mansur was survived by his elderly mother, his wife and two young sons.

MARTYRDOM OF RANA SALEEM AHMAD

(105th Ahmadi murdered for his faith since
Ordinance XX passed in 1984)

DATE:	THURSDAY, 26 NOVEMBER 2009
LOCATION:	SANGHAR, SINDH

BACKGROUND:

Many Ahmadis have long been targeted in the Sindh Province of Pakistan. In September 2008 two prominent Ahmadis, Dr Abdul Mannan Siddiqi and Seth Muhammad Yusuf, were killed following the airing of the GEO Television programme ‘Aalim Online’ in which it was said that it was a religious duty to kill Ahmadis. Another Ahmadi, Saeed Ahmad was killed in Kotri in January 2009. This latest killing continues a trend of the murder of well known Ahmadis in the Sindh Province.

FACTS:

Rana Saleem Ahmad (51) was the Deputy Amir of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Sanghar and on 26 November 2009 he was shot dead by unknown assailants in the evening just outside the local Ahmadiyya Mosque.

Mr Ahmad was locking the mosque after the sunset prayer when he was shot at from close range. The bullet hit him in the nose and came out of the back of his head. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital where he was soon pronounced dead.

Rana Saleem Ahmad was the proprietor and manager of the New Light Academy reputed for offering an extremely high standard of education for young children. Approximately one thousands students are enrolled. The education of children was a great passion of the deceased who wanted to raise the literacy standard of children in Pakistan regardless of colour, class or religion.

Mr Ahmad had also served the Jamaat with distinction in numerous roles.

CONCLUSION

In 1947 the Founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, declared that the Pakistan he envisioned was one of tolerance; where peoples of different faiths and beliefs sat side by side in peace and harmony. A Pakistan where there would be no discrimination on the basis of religion.

Twenty seven years later, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who professed himself to be a secular liberal, regrettably violated the vision of Qaid-e-Azam when he allowed for the Constitution of Pakistan to be amended so that Ahmadi Muslims were declared non-Muslim for the purposes of the law and constitution.

A further ten years later General Zia, who had assumed power after overthrowing and hanging Bhutto some years earlier, promulgated the anti-Ahmadiyya Ordinance XX in order to win favour with the mullahs and their followers. This was a further and even deeper wound to the memory of Qaid-e-Azam as it basically curtailed all rights of Ahmadis to practise freely their religion.

The Government of Pakistan therefore bears a great deal of responsibility for the persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat because these two acts effectively legitimised discrimination and prejudice against a minority sect. The legitimacy afforded has been pounced upon by the many extremist clerics that permeate all parts of the country. Rallies continually take place throughout Pakistan where the masses, much of whom are uneducated, are told that Ahmadis are legitimate targets and ‘Wajibul Qatl’ which means that Muslims are under a religious duty to kill and eliminate them.

This report has highlighted the cases of eleven innocent persons who were killed not because they had done anything wrong but because they belonged to a religious organisation whose motto is ‘Love for All, Hatred for None’. They belonged to an organisation that has always taught that Islam is a religion of peace and that Islam is the ultimate defender of all faiths.

The International Community and Media is urged to take action to safeguard members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Pakistan. The year 2010 was not a week old when another member, Retired Professor Muhammad Yusuf (70) was killed in Lahore whilst tending the shop owned by his son. Such horrific incidents are increasing in number and occurring in parts of Pakistan that were previously relatively safe. It is of absolute urgency that the International Community and Media condemns the treatment of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Pakistan and demands its Government to repeal all anti-Ahmadiyya legislation.

Targeted killing of another Ahmadi - Rana Ata-ul-Karimh - Video

Rana Ata-ul-Karim fell to assassins’ bullets at his home on August 6, 2009 at about 10 a.m. He was 36. He left behind his widow, a son aged 9 and two daughters 4 and 3 years old.

Rana Karim was a well-known Ahmadi in the neighborhood. He had a master’s degree in agriculture and was in the business of production and distribution of poultry feeds and medicines. In the preceding few days unknown persons were seen moving around his residence in a mysterious way. He became careful and took some precautions. On the day of the incident when he went out, three armed men entered his house, shut his family in one room, and waited for his return. His wife pleaded the intruders to take away whatever they wanted, but they took nothing except life. As soon as Rana Karim entered his home, they fired at him. He was hit thrice. One bullet hit his neck and damaged his windpipe, the other hit close to his ear while the third hit low and damaged his kidney. He died on the spot.

Monthly Newsreport - Ahmadiyya Persecution in Pakistan - July, 2009

Targeted killing of another Ahmadi for his faith

Multan; August 6, 2009: Rana Ata-ul-Karim fell to assassins’ bullets at his home on August 6, 2009 at about 10 a.m. He was 36. He left behind his widow, a son aged 9 and two daughters 4 and 3 years old.

Rana Karim was a well-known Ahmadi in the neighborhood. He had a master’s degree in agriculture and was in the business of production and distribution of poultry feeds and medicines. In the preceding few days unknown persons were seen moving around his residence in a mysterious way. He became careful and took some precautions. On the day of the incident when he went out, three armed men entered his house, shut his family in one room, and waited for his return. His wife pleaded the intruders to take away whatever they wanted, but they took nothing except life. As soon as Rana Karim entered his home, they fired at him. He was hit thrice. One bullet hit his neck and damaged his windpipe, the other hit close to his ear while the third hit low and damaged his kidney. He died on the spot.

Multan is headquarters of an anti-Ahmadi organization. Extremist elements are well-known to the police. An Ahmadi couple was killed there only four months ago. This is the seventh incident of murder of Ahmadis in Pakistan for faith since January this year. The Ahmadiyya press-release on this incident stated:

Murderous attacks on Ahmadis take place as a result of deliberate plans of religious anarchists. They are the prime-movers of sectarian extremism. One hundred and two Ahmadis have been murdered for their faith since the promulgation of Ahmadi-specific law of 1984 External Link - Opens new browser window. No action is taken by authorities despite our repeated reminders to the government. Consequently, such incidents keep on recurring, and are on the rise. … If the government pays no attention to such faith-based murders, it is citizens who (eventually) suffer the consequences.

The Ahmadiyya spokesman requested higher authorities to take notice and take immediate action.

A heart rending story - innocent Ahmadi tortured by state agencies

This story is a personal account of an innocent man who suffered torture at the hands of state agents. The inflicted torture was the cutting edge of a joint effort by corrupt clerics, inefficient police, mindless administration, sadistic agencies and heartless politicians. It is a tale of suffering of Mr. Rashid Iqbal, an Ahmadi resident of Kunri, District Mirpur Khas, Sindh. There is some background to this incident, which deserves a brief mention at the beginning.

Kunri has been a hotbed of anti-Ahmadiyya agitation for some time. Ahmadis kept the administration and the police informed of the situation. However, the political leadership in Pakistan handles the mulla with great tenderness, regardless of consequences. The district authorities therefore echo that sentiment and approach, and ordinarily support the clergy or neglect and disregard their criminal activities. This attitude prevails at Kunri.

Here the mullas have a dispute with local Ahmadis over a plot and construction of a mosque over it. Ahmadis had approached the authorities for justice; this was not acceptable to the mullas. They conspired to implicate Ahmadis in a fabricated case of blasphemy. In September last year, they accused Rana Khalil Ahmad of writing an objectionable letter to a mulla, and accused Mr. Rashid Iqbal of writing something blasphemous on a road track. The police blithely booked the two under the dreaded blasphemy law PPC 295-C, PPC 295-A and the anti-terrorism law ATA-9. The cases received no serious investigation by any senior police officer as required by the rules. The two men who were bread-winners of their families were arrested and were exposed to awful consequences of these false incriminations.

This story is of Mr. Rahsid Iqbal who is 34 years old, married and has two children, 5 and 3 years old. He also supports his father who is over 85.

In order to cut it short, we mention below only essential details as narrated by Mr. Iqbal - in his words translated in English.

“On December 4, 2008 I was waiting at the railway station Hyderabad to board a train for Faisalabad. At about 13:30 three men in plain clothes approached me and my nephew who was with me, told me that they belonged to agencies and took us both to a four-wheel drive outside the station. They pushed us inside the vehicle, blindfolded us and handcuffed us behind the back. They took my mobile phone, three SIM cards, Rs. 950 in cash, a bottle of perfume, and a tin of talcum powder. After about 20 minutes’ drive they arrived at a location unknown to me. There, they noted down my particulars and put me in shackles. … After some time I requested for some relief, told them that I was innocent, and pleaded that they take off the band over my eyes and place the handcuffs in front rather than my back which is very hurtful. … I offered them to let me free on promise to make myself available in the court, and offered them Rs. 20,000 for this favour. They, however, responded that this money was too little. “Raise it to five lacs (500,000) and we will drop you wherever you like,” they said. However, no money was given or taken. … I noticed a plaque in the room on which MI 4 was written. They asked me about the exact nature of our religious beliefs, to which I replied that there was hardly any difference; you people are awaiting the advent of a Mahdi, while we believe that the advent has already taken place. … After the meal, they blindfolded me again. At about 8 p.m. they uncovered my eyes, opened the handcuffs and the shackles. I told them again that I was entirely innocent and knew nothing of the alleged blasphemy or the ‘sketches’. …However they sent for the electric-shock machine and subjected me to shocks. Then they turned me naked and beat me up with a leather whip. They insisted that I admit to acting jointly with two others in committing the blasphemy. I kept on reciting the Kalima (the Islamic creed) till I went unconscious under torture. When I recovered they got themselves a belt used in thresher machines and hit me with it repeatedly. “This ugly looking man (manhus shakal wala) is a member of a fighter organization; he is not going to admit without (this treatment),” one of them said. I told them that I am only an ordinary citizen who makes a living by grinding spices and supplying to the retailers in the town. However, they inflicted me still more electric shocks and slapped me repeatedly. They did the same to my nephew (who was not even an accused in the fabricated FIR). He told them that the issue was nothing except the community plot over which Ayub and his colleagues (the accusers) had got Ahmadis implicated in this false case. Thereafter they blindfolded me again. I was then driven elsewhere and delivered to some other group after two or three hours’ drive.

“I was now finding it very difficult to walk, after the torture. They took me to a room where they opened the handcuffs and took off the band over my eyes. They turned me naked and made me lie down on the floor. One of those tormentors sat astride me and clasped my head in between his knees, while two others took positions on my left and right. They hit me repeatedly on my back and calves of my legs. I went unconscious with pain, and they brought me back to consciousness by a drink and some pills; and then hit me again and again. They said, ‘We are ISI men; we have come all the way from Islamabad; admit your crime.” They were accusing me and some other Ahmadis to having turned to blasphemy in order to precipitate a Hindu-Muslim riot. It was all Greek to me; so I denied that. Then they turned vicious. They introduced chilies in my anus. They opened my two legs and one of them sat on my neck and threatened me with loss of manhood (na mard). I told them again of my innocence, and finally asked them in desperation to shoot me dead. They took me out of the room and fired a shot close to my ear. In fact at that stage I could no longer bear the hurt of the torture of ‘opening the legs’, so I agreed to own up all the false accusations. I was made to sign a number of blank sheets, put my thumb and finger prints on them, admitted to planning a ‘Hindu-Muslim riot’, paying Rs. 5000/- to Sultan Chandio for drawing the ‘sketches’ in the presence of Khalid at his shop, threatened Sultan with death for non-compliance, writing blasphemy on the road track etc - all rubbish, of course. They urged me to implicate Ahmadiyya leadership in providing the Rs. 5000, and mention Nasir Wahla and Majeed Zahid (local Community leaders), but I refused to do that. They wanted me to state that Tariq Mota and Nasir Wahla (Ahmadis) had telephoned me to write that writing, and the taxi on which we went to Umar Kot to post the letter (allegedly written by Rana Khalil) belonged to Zahid son of Habib.

“Then they presented me blindfolded to their officer. He interrogated me further. He asked me, “How much are you paid monthly by your community?” “It is we who subscribe regularly to the community; we do not receive money from our Jamaat”, I told him. He had my eye-band removed, and then made a movie. They took some still shots, too. Then I was blindfolded again, was handcuffed in front and driven to a lock-up somewhere. There, I enquired about the time. It was 11 p.m. on 5 December 2008. It was a police station. An A.S.I. provided me with some food and pain-relieving pills. The next day this inspector said to me, “Look here, I have not slapped you even once. All I want from you is to tell the judge that you were arrested at 5 p.m. on 5 December in Kunri. If you tell the judge that you were picked up in Hyderabad and were tortured, I will have you on 15 days’ remand and deliver you back to the ISI”. Then I was taken to an Anti-terrorism court. … (Days later) when I could see the Judge I told him that I was tortured and showed him torture marks on my body. The judge sent me for the medical and I requested the doctor to be truthful in his medical report. … Those who took my cash and belongings at the time of my arrest have not delivered those back to me.

“I am now happy to be eventually on bail and with my family once again. I am however afraid whenever I go out in the open. If I die, please do look after my wife and children, and please take care of my elderly father.”

This is how the state wastes its time, resources and energy on worthless tasks assigned by the mulla. It is no surprise that it ends up with problems like those in Swat, Waziristan and Gojra.

Mullas convene in a grand meeting presided over by the Chief Minister, and formally and jointly stress sectarian hatred and prejudice while condemning extremism conditionally

Lahore; July 1, 2009: According to a huge advertisement, covering more than one third of a page of some national vernacular dailies, the Government of the Punjab conveyed to the public that a special meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mr. Shahbaz Sharif, the Khadim Punjab, on July 1, 2009, in which illustrious Ulama Karam (the respected ulama) of various denominations participated, and issued a Joint Declaration.

The declaration mentioned that suicide attacks are un-Islamic and are in the forbidden (haram) category. They declared that those who shed the blood of innocent Muslims should be held accountable (as if the Islam of these mullas permits shedding blood of innocent Non-Muslims. Ed).

The Joint Declaration is long and reflects mostly the government policy. The participant mullahs however found the government a willing partner in incorporating deplorable exceptions in the Declaration (like the ‘innocent Muslims’, mentioned above). Also, in the concluding sentence at the end it mentions: “The Ulama Karam jointly held that suicide attacks and all acts of terrorism inside Pakistan are anti-Islam, Pakistan and humanity.” (Emphasis added). Obviously, the Ulama Karam are not sure that acts of terrorism outside Pakistan are un-Islamic. However, the most significant and deplorable part of the Declaration is its Clause 2 which met official approval in this meeting that was ostensibly held to promote peace in Pakistan. It states:

“Faith in the Prophethood of Khatam-an-Nabiyyeen Muhammad (PBUH) and love, obedience and association with him is the basis of our religious identity, collective life and national solidarity. Unfailing certainty in his end of prophethood (Khatme Nabuwwat) is an integral part of our faith. It is our religious duty to safeguard the honor of the Prophethood (PBUH). Anyone who is guilty, directly or indirectly, openly or by implication, of even minor insolence to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is an infidel (Kafir), apostate (Murtad) and must be put to death (Wajib-ul-Qatl).”

The meticulous detail and wording of this clause has provided the ulama with ample license to demand and promote bloodshed and violence — and the government of the Punjab has conceded that. They paid from public funds not only to hold the meeting but also spent a huge amount on its advertisement in press. If the government had held the meeting initially to promote peace, the mulla succeeded in co-opting it for greater violence and blood in future.

The meeting demanded action against murderers of Maulana Sarfraz Naeemi, and inter alia against those who indoctrinated the killer. From a reading of the Clause 2 of the Declaration mentioned above, it is obvious that participants of this meeting were of the category who undertake such indoctrination.

The excellent names (Asma-e-grami) of the participating ‘respected ulama’ (Ulama Karam) as advertised were the following:

1.	Maulana Hanif Jalandhri	2.	Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahim
3.	Maulana Amjad Khan	4.	Maulana Zahid-ur-Rashdi
5.	Pir Muhammad Afzal Qadri	6.	Syed Mahfuz Mashhadi
7.	Syed Mahfuz Safdar Shah	8.	Maulana Ghulam Muhammad Sialvi
9.	Mr. Mahmud H Sheikh Hashmi	10.	Maulana Muhammad Sharif Rizvi
11.	Maulana Rashid Mian	12.	Maulana Abdur Rauf Rabbani

The Internet shows that this official meeting and its Declaration attracted a great deal of unfavorable comment from international human rights activists - individuals and organizations. A section of this huge ad in the press is reproduced here.

(Translation) The daily Pakistan, Lahore; (8) July 4, 2009

Suicide attacks are un-Islamic and are in the forbidden category (haram).
Those who shed the blood of innocent Muslims should be held accountable.
Consensus in the meeting attended by top respected Ulama (Karam).
On July 1, 2009 a special meeting was held under the chairmanship of Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, the Khadim Punjab, in which top respected Ulama of various denominations participated.
………………
Joint Declaration

1.	……………………
2.	“Faith in the Prophethood of Khatam-an-Nabiyyeen Muhammad (PBUH) and love, obedience and association with him is the basis of our religious identity, collective life and national solidarity. Unfailing certainty in his end of prophethood (Khatme Nabuwwat) is an integral part of our faith. It is our religious duty to safeguard the honor of the Prophethood (PBUH). Anyone who is guilty, directly or indirectly, openly or by implication, of even minor insolence to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is an infidel (Kafir), apostate (Murtad) and must be put to death (Wajib-ul-Qatl).”
3.	……………………

The police join extremists to impose mass persecution on Ahmadis in District Faisalabad

Lathianwala, Chak 194, District Faisalabad: The police registered a fabricated case against 32 Ahmadis under the dreaded blasphemy law PPC 295-C, anti Ahmadiyya law PPC 298-C, anti-terrorism clause PPC 295-A and other laws PPC 506 and 109, on July 25, 2009 with FIR 486/09 in Police Station Khararianwala. If declared guilty, the accused could be hanged.

While the details are awaited, a copy of the FIR has become available. In this the accusing party blames Ahmadis inter alia of posing as Muslims, using Islamic epithets, praising God, thanking Him, displaying the Kalima (Islamic creed), writing Mashallah (by the will and grace of God) on their residences etc. This has hurt the feelings of Muslims, according to the report; these writings defile the beliefs of Ahle Sunnat (Brelvis) and they feel threatened, etc.

Obviously, the FIR and the agitation is fabricated and artificially created and nourished in bad faith. The police have most wrongfully registered the case. This exposes all the named 32 Ahmadis to arrest and prosecution. The case and the treatment of the Ahmadi school children of Layyah is an indicator of what the state and society can do to its citizens who face spurious charge of blasphemy.

Accusing 32 Ahmadis in this case and registration of a criminal case against them whose penalty is nothing but death is a clear indication of gross deterioration of human rights and loss of freedom of faith of marginalized sections of society in the Punjab. Burning and loot of scores of Christian homes in District Qasur and Gojra this month also shows criminal disregard by the authorities towards protection of its citizens.

An opportunity for the state, and a ray of hope

Lahore: Mr. Muhammad Iqbal, Ahmadi is serving a sentence of ‘imprisonment for life’ in Faisalabad prison on a false charge of blasphemy. He was sentenced by a sessions court, and is now in his sixth year of incarceration. He had appealed to the Lahore High Court against the sentence, pleading that he is innocent. Now his turn has come after a very long wait, and a judge is to hear the appeal.

The opposing party counseled by Adv. Rab Nawaz, a rabidly anti-Ahmadiyya lawyer from Chiniot, entered a counter-appeal against Mr. Iqbal, and asked for an enhancement in the sentence (death).

The judge has given the next date of hearing in the second week of August. The accused and his stricken family hope that he will be a free man before the court adjourns for summer holidays.

It is an opportunity for the state to cut its losses in the field of human rights and religious freedom. It should actively help the court in undoing the injustice inflicted upon the innocent victim who is the bread-winner of his family.

No freedom of worship for Ahmadis

Kot Muhammad Yar, District Chiniot: Ahmadis were using a room in this village for prayers and Friday congregations. As and when their women joined in the worship, they would hang a curtain for partition. As the space was getting short for the worshippers, Ahmadis decided to build another room in the prayer center.

As the walls of the new room reached waist high, the police arrived. They told Ahmadis to stop the construction and report to the police station in the evening.

When the Ahmadis arrived at the police station they found the mullas already seated there. There, the SHO asked Ahmadis the purpose of their construction. The Ahmadi delegation told him frankly that if Muslims had a right to build a mosque, Christians their church and Sikhs their Gurdawara, Ahmadis also had a right to build a place of worship for themselves. The SHO did not agree, and told them to seek governmental approval for it. He knew that it was not needed, and if they ask for it Ahmadis will not get it.

Later the SHO told Ahmadis that the mulla will not let them build a room for worship. He volunteered to have the construction material removed under his own supervision. He told Ahmadis to stop praying altogether in the room as before. That was the end of even the minimal possibility of worship that existed before.

The vernacular press joined the monkey chorus, as usual.

Abominable conduct of Tehsil Municipal Administration Kamalia

Pir Mohal, District Toba Tek Singh: We reported last month in some detail as to how an attack, arson and violence took place at an Ahmadiyya graveyard in Pir Mahal. It was mentioned that the authorities had allocated this plot of land to Ahmadis in 1988 to bury their dead. Ahmadis are already buried there.

Some will find it difficult to believe, but the fact is that the Tehsil Municipal Administration Kamaliya cancelled its notification for the Ahmadiyya graveyard on June 9, 2009, citing the threat to law and order as a reason. (The monthly, Jehdi-Haq for July 2009)

Governance had rarely reached that low in Pakistan.

Ahmadi children released on bail after nearly six months in prison

Layyah: We are happy to report that the four Ahmadi children and one adult who have been imprisoned for nearly six months, following their arrest in District Layyah, have been granted bail.

Justice Pervez Inayat of the High Court Bench at Multan granted the bail on condition of fiscal guarantee of Rs. 200,000/- being paid per person.

During the hearing the Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Mr. Pervez Tareen made it clear that there was no evidence connecting any of the accused with the alleged crime. The same finding was offered earlier to the Sessions Judge who still rejected their plea for bail. It was highly improper on the part of the state attorney to oppose the bail in the sessions court, after that finding.

The children have suffered greatly during these months. It was all avoidable. The involved clerics, the politicians, the police, the administration, the lower judiciary, all played their part in hurting the innocent children. They used religion to promote their unworthy personal interests.

The state has not dropped the charges. The accused will still face a trial. If declared ‘guilty’, they could be hanged. It is not at all difficult here to rent witnesses (as many as required) in support of a fictitious religious cause.

Ordinarily, once the bail is granted by a judge, efforts are made by the near and dear ones of the accused to have him released the same day. Despite all efforts by the supporters of these five Ahmadi accused, their release was delayed far beyond normal. Although the High Court accepted the bail on July 7, the ‘decision papers’ had some error, so a correct copy became available on July 10. It was presented the very next day to Mr. Niazi the Additional Sessions Judge Layyah who, for reasons best known to him, did not sign them despite repeated reminders. The designated official thus left for D G Khan without the release orders for the five. The Addl. Sessions Judge signed the papers late in the afternoon. The District Judge thereafter was requested to nominate a special messenger (the accused’s parents offered to pay for his travel expenses etc.) but he refused the plea. The next day was a holiday. So the release was further delayed, and the children could be freed on July 13, six days after the decision by the High Court.

As the accused children are at risk, they were not taken to their village. The parents took them elsewhere so as to be with them without exposure to possible attack.

An op-ed in the Wall Street Journal of May 21, 2009 deserves serious consideration: “The Taliban cannot defeat Pakistan militarily. The Taliban will win because what they want is already being implemented in Pakistan”. If the present state is not de-facto a ‘theocracy’, what else is? Mr. Jinnah, the founding father had asserted that Pakistan will not be a theocratic state.

A mulla and the Prime Minister

The daily Ausaf, Lahore of July 29, 2009 printed a story whose translation is rendered below. Ausaf’s reporter has quoted mulla Allah Yar Arshad in his report; however, as both this mulla and this newspaper are not known for high morals, the level of authenticity of the published report remains at best uncertain. The press report:

Qadiani place of worship: The Prime Minister orders a report on the sealed mosque belonging to Muslims. The Prime Minister appreciated Maulana Arshad’s act of bringing the issue to his notice and said that this proved the Maulana’s loyalty to Islam. Chiniot (Tehsil correspondent): Mr. Yusuf Raza Gilani, the Prime Minister of Pakistan has taken notice of the issue of the construction of a Qadiani place of worship in Nazabad, Chiniot, and the sealing of a Muslim mosque in Nurpur Colony, Ahmad Nagar, and has asked for a report. He mentioned this in an official meeting with Maulana Allah Yar Arshad, leader of the Tehrik Khatme Nabuwwat. The Prime Minister appreciated Maulana Arshad for pointing out this issue and stated that by this timely action of informing him about this case the Maulana has proved his loyalty to Islam and Pakistan. The Prime Minister will have a joint meeting with Maulana Arshad in Islamabad at his first convenience (sic).

Perhaps the PM is unaware that this mulla is registered in the VIth Schedule and is a ‘history sheeter’ in police record for his criminal conduct over a long period.

Open incitement to murder

We produce below the translation of a press report, sic, from the daily Ausaf, Lahore July 25, 2009:

No room for Qadianis in the Muslim Ummah — Chaudhry Iqbal Haveli Lakkha (correspondent): “There is no room for Qadianis in the Muslim Ummah; it is a religious duty of every Muslim to dispatch a Qadiani to hell,” this view was expressed by Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal President International Khatme-e-Nabuwwat in a corner meeting held to prepare for Ramadan-ul-Mubarak. He said: “Qadianism is a cancer and a mischief. Leave alone boycotting them, a Qadiani should not be allowed to reside in a Muslim area. However, if such a situation does arise, it is the duty of every Muslim to dispatch them to hell and thus win an honored place in the court of Allah and His prophet (P.B.U.H.). Mr. Bhutto’s achievement of declaring the Qadiani non-Muslims is an expiation for all his shortcomings.”

Chaudhry Iqbal has instigated the Muslims to murder Ahmadis living in their neighborhood. If the government is serious about maintaining communal place, it should prosecute Iqbal for committing a crime under section PPC 115.

It is noteworthy that irresponsible vernacular dailies like the Ausaf provide publicity space to such extremist views. This also amounts to abetment of the crime.

Extremist mullas disturb peace near Rabwah over Ahmadiyya mosque

Ahmad Nagar, District Chiniot: Mullas based in Rabwah and Chiniot whose sole duty is to target Ahmadis in Rabwah and its environs have targeted an Ahmadiyya mosque in nearby Ahmad Nagar to disturb the peace of the area. This mosque has a background history that also reflects very negatively on the human rights situation of Ahmadis in Pakistan.

Almost a quarter of a century ago an Ahmadi, Rana Vali Muhammad, built a one-room mosque in his own land in sector Nurpur of Ahmad Nagar. The mosque served as a place of worship for approximately two dozen Ahmadis of the neighborhood. As the facility was located near a public route, occasionally a non-Ahmadi would also come and offer his prayers there. To this, Ahmadis never objected; they do not object to anyone who uses an Ahmadiyya mosque for worship of one God.

In 2003, the mosque needed essential repairs and improvements. Ahmadis undertook that. At that occasion mulla Ghulam Mustafa who is an agitator based in Muslim Colony, four kilometers away, arrived and claimed the mosque on the grounds that as Muslim travelers and locals have also used the mosque, it now belonged to them. He sought police intervention, as was sure of state support in a religious issue, however unworthy.

The police official asked for the land deed. The Ahmadi owner showed it to him, and proved to him that the location and the building had always belonged to him and still belonged to him in official papers and in fact. At this, most unjustly, the police official ordered the mosque to be sealed ‘temporarily on account of law and order problem’. The mosque has remained locked for the last six years, and Ahmadis of the neighborhood have remained deprived of their place of worship. Now the mulla is agitating to have the mosque reopened for only Non-Ahmadis.

The mullas have hoisted banners with demands to that effect. They scheduled a conference in Ahmad Nagar on July 22, 2009 to agitate for that. The vernacular press as usual gave the helping hand (the daily Jang, Lahore of July 19, 2009). Mullas of the Khatme Nabuwwat organization, Allah Yar Arshad, Yamin Gauhar, Mugheerah, Ghulam Mustafa, Masood Sarwari etc are leading this agitation. Ahmadis reported the situation to the police.

Mulla Allah Yar Arshad is in the IVth Schedule and a ‘history sheeter’ in police record for his criminal conduct. He arrived in Ahmad Nagar on July 22 accompanied by half a dozen of his own type, and attempted to precipitate a brawl. The police arrived at the scene to maintain order. Ahmadis are maintaining their calm, even though extremist mullas are indulging in provocations. The authorities are shy to deliver the justice, ‘in the interest of law and order’.

Communal tension in Azad Kashmir

A political mulla, Pir Atiq-ur-Rahman has apparently decided to use the ‘Qadiani card’ to promote his political career. He is fairly influential and claims close links with the top leadership of the territory.

The Pir’s campaign in the name of Khatme Nabuwwat is essentially political, sectarian, agitational and even violent. His tactics include intimidating the government through this religious issue. He agitates the common man in his hate speeches against Ahmadiyyat. He hopes to gain political mileage with crutches such as the ‘protection of the end of prophethood’ — an oft-tried tool by numerous political tricksters.

The authorities in Azad Kashmir initially responded obligingly to his pressure tactics, and indulged in wanton violations of Ahmadis’ human rights (see News Report June 2008). This brought a bad name to the government of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. It seems the government decided to recant, and took some damage control measures.

The Pir recently made another attempt at holding Khatme Nabuwwat conferences at various locations e.g. Kotli, Goi, Tatta Pani etc. The yellow vernacular press, as usual, offered plenty of space to the Pir and his acolytes. Newspapers like Nawa-i-Waqt, Ausaf, Khabrain etc spared two, even three-column space to publish disinformation as well information regarding these conferences, etc. Extracts:

We shall not accept any ban on Khatme Nabuwwat Conference.

Among all the anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan forces the most dangerous are Qadianis. In the garb of Islam they are busy in uprooting Islam and Pakistan.

The daily Khabrain, Islamabad; June 26, 2009

Disclosure of heavy amounts donated by the Jewish lobby to blasphemy undertaken by Christian and Qadiani

The Jewish Lobby provided 5 billion rupees to non-Muslims to precipitate sectarian riots in Pakistan. Qaisar Ayub and Shahzad Saleem launched blaspheming website with support of the Jewish lobby who assured them protection.

We shall not accept any ban on the Khatme Nabuwwat Conference — Yasin Gilani

The daily Ausaf, Islamabad; June 26, 2009

The English raised Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani in a major conspiracy. There can be no compromise on the issue of End of Prophethood. … We shall respond to the call of Pir Atiq ur Rahman and shall spare no sacrifice to that end. The Khatme Nabuwwat Conference shall be held.

The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Islamabad; June 26, 2009

The administration and police officials of Kotli said, “We have appealed to Pir Atiq ur Rahman that the circumstances are not favorable, the (proximity of) Control Line is relevant, so please do not hold the Khatme Nabuwwat Conference at Goi.”

The daily Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad; June 26, 2009

Auspiciously, the authorities did not allow the holding of the conference. It must have taken some effort. However, the monster has grown in size, only because the Pir was seen often in company of the local prime minister last year.

At Mirpur:

Mirpur is an important city in Azad Kashmir. A few recent reports from there:

• Anti-Ahmadiyya leaflets were distributed in Mirpur Engineering University.
• Mr. Tahir Ahmad, Ahmadi, owner of a marble factory was threatened of harm, on telephone.
• Mr. Ashraf, an Ahmadi, is a teacher at Kurdah Town. He is targeted by local agitators for his faith. They met the headmaster and urged him to take some action against him.
• Tariq Ahmad, a young man worked in a tailoring shop. His boss asked him to recite the Kalima, which he did. At this the boss slapped him on the face. Tariq quit the job after this. A few days later the boss met him and apologized; his son had fallen ill and has been diagnosed as suffering from blood cancer. The boss now thinks that his ordeal has its roots in his maltreatment of Tariq Ahmad.
  

At Rawla Kot:

Pir Atiq ur Rahman presided over a joint meeting of Jamiat Ulama Jammu and Kashmir and Jamaat Ahle Sunnat. Its proceedings were reported in a three-column report by the daily Ausaf, Islamabad of July 1, 2009. Excerpts:

• Qadianis are enemies of Islam, Pakistan and the Freedom Movement; they can live here only as non-Muslim minority. They will not be permitted to practice Islam.
• The speakers strongly condemned those people who support Qadianis. These people are not worth even a penny.
• Qadianis’ slaves (Zar kharid) should stop supporting them or be prepared for their doom.
• A great Paigham-e-Mustafa (The message of Muhammad p.b.u.h.) Conference will be held on August 13 at Rawala Kot, the home of Mujahedeen and fighters (Ghazis) against infidels.
• Participating clerics included: Mufti-e-Kashmir Muhammad Hussain, Hayat Khan Qadri, Nazir H Shah Gilani, Abdul Aziz Abbasi of Majlis Amal Tahaffuz Khatme Nabuwwat, A Qayyum Faruqi, Wajahat Gardezi, Dr Quddus, Aslam Zafar, Ghulam Yasin Gilani, Sardar Khadim Hussain, Mahbub Hayat Qadri, Imtiaz Siddiqui, Jabbar Shah, Zubair Naqshbandi, Haji Siddique, Tanveer Hussain, Israel Khan, Khalil Qadri, Shafiq Ahmad, Qari Hanif, Syed Gardezi, Rahim Dad and Altaf Hussain etc.

Sectarianism in women's hostel and college

Faisalabad: Miss Baslah Ahmad, an Ahmadi student of Government College University, residing in the Para-Medical Girls Hostel, near Company Bagh, in Faisalabad has reported extensive prejudice and sectarian hostility against her in the hostel. It shows the corroding effect on society of the highly provocative leaflets and folders issued by various Khatme Nabuwwat organizations and distributed freely in educational institutions.

Briefly, Miss Ahmad has lived in that hostel for the last two years in company of non-Ahmadi girls, and the stay has been smooth and friendly all along — till two months ago. In April this year a pamphlet titled: Who is Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani? was delivered to the hostel, and Baslah’s room-mates confronted her with that provocative and incendiary material. Baslah tried to avoid the provocation but the agitated colleagues persisted. The incident spread the fire of hatred further in the next few days, and became an issue of which the administration took notice. Fortunately the administration did not join the agitation; it tried to calm the agitators. The girls, however, on their own, told Baslah not to join them at the dining table, and imposed a social boycott on her. The boycott, however, remained only partly effective, as some of the girls privately supported Baslah. Some elements that thrive upon discord and mischief proceeded to suggest that Baslah had committed ‘blasphemy’. They also referred to the last year’s events of the Punjab Medical College.

This incident is an example how sectarianism gets foothold in educational institutions and hostels. A lenient attitude of the administration towards agents-provocateurs encourages them to spread the mischief. Agitational sectarianism leads to religious extremism that leads conveniently to terrorism. This is how educated women are found among those who put on suicide belts.

Religious extremists active in Okara

Okara: Anti-Ahmadi elements launched an organized effort to promote sectarian hatred in Okara and other towns of this district. Hate literature was distributed in various bazaars. Tahaffuz Khatme Nabuwwat organization hung hate banners in the Mandi Ahmad Abad, with writings such as:

• The worst infidels in the whole world are the Qadianis.
• Anyone who trades with Qadianis is also an infidel (Kafir).
• One who is friendly to a Qadiani is an enemy of the Master (p.b.u.h.) etc.

Extremist leaders met the local shop-keepers in person and exhorted them to boycott Ahmadi businessmen.

Ahmadis feel concerned with the rise in hateful activities. They met the police SHO who appeared heedless, so they intend to meet the DPO.

Villainy of a resident mulla in Rabwah

Rabwah; July 2009: Recently Mr. Mahmud Ahmad Gondal, Ahmadi proprietor of Gondal Banquet Hall, sent a written complaint to the police SHO against Mulla Allah Yar Arshad.

According to the complaint, the mulla telephoned Mr. Gondal, spoke to him in foul and threatening language and told him to shut down his business or face action. As the Banquet Hall is close to the mulla’s residence, he threatened that any Ahmadi passing in that street in car or on motor cycle will be killed. The mulla warned him against reporting the incident to the police. According to the complaint, a few days later, the mulla’s acolytes attacked a guest’s car, stoned it and chased the guest to the Hall.

Mr. Gondal has requested the SHO to register a case against the mulla, and provide security to the complainant against the bully.

Save victims of the blasphemy law - the Daily Times

Lahore, July 3, 2009: The prestigious Daily Times of Lahore published a story of this title, on July 3, 2009. An extract:

Last month an additional judge of Layyah refused bail to five Ahmadis including four teenagers accused of having blasphemed by writing an offensive word in a latrine of a Sunni mosque in a ‘Chak’ of Layyah. The five have been languishing for the past four and a half months in a jail in Dera Ghazi Khan without the government coming to their help. The police registered a case against them without the required prior investigation because of pressure from the local MNA and a banned terrorist organization itself under trial these days. This was affirmed in investigative reports from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

The police investigation, when finally submitted, said there was no direct evidence against the five accused. The FIR says that the plaintiffs were moved only by “suspicion” because the accused were “non-Muslim” Ahmadis. The four children are in a bad shape in the Dera Ghazi Khan jail with one in sharply declining health. They face death under Blasphemy Law which has brought nothing but infamy to the state of Pakistan and to its intimidated judiciary.

Christians burnt alive; their homes attacked and looted

Qasur, and Gojra, Punjab: It is learnt from press report that within a month religious extremists burnt scores of houses, owned by Christians in Kasur and Gojra, and looted some of them. The arson resulted in burning of seven Christians to death; including four women and a child.

The enormity, the evil, the hurt and the depravity of these incidents is beyond description.

The province of the Punjab is administered these days by Mian Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister, and the Inspector General of Police is Mr. Tariq Saleem Dogar.

Ahmadis behind bars

1. Mr. Muhammad Iqbal was imprisoned for life in a fabricated case of blasphemy. He was arrested in July 2004, and is now incarcerated in the Central Jail, Faisalabad. An appeal lies with the Lahore High Court against the decision of the Sessions Court, and is under consideration these days. It is registered as Criminal Appeal No. 89/2005. He is now in the sixth year of his imprisonment.
2. Three Ahmadis namely Messrs, Basharat, Nasir Ahmad and Muhammad Idrees along with 7 others of Chak Sikandar were arrested in September 2003 on a false charge of murder of a cleric, alleged by opponents of the Jamaat. The police, after due investigation found no evidence against the accused. Yet these men still faced ‘complaint trial’ for a crime they did not commit. Based on the unreliable testimony of the two alleged eye-witnesses (who were proven false in the court) the court acquitted seven of the accused, but on the evidence of the same two liars the court sentenced these three innocent Ahmadis to death. They are being held in a death row at a prison in Jehlum, while their appeal lies with the Lahore High Court. They are now in the sixth year of their incarceration. Their appeal to the Lahore High Court is registered as Criminal Appeal No. 616/2005 dated 26 April 2005.
3. Dr. Muhammad Asghar was arrested on a fabricated charge of blasphemy in June 2008. The judge rejected his plea for bail. The police investigation found him innocent. Subsequently his plea for bail has been rejected by the High Court — and the Supreme Court.

From the press

Police registers criminal case against 32 Qadianis in (Chak) 194 R.B. The accused must be punished — (mulla) Nasir Naqshbandi

The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore; July 27, 2009

To dispatch a Qadiani to hell is the religious duty of every Muslim - Chaudhri Muhammad Iqbal President International Khatme Nabuwwat (Haveli Lakkha)

The daily Ausaf, Lahore; July 25, 2009

Constitution to be restored in true form — Kaira (PPP Federal Minister of Information)

The daily Dawn, Lahore; July 7, 2009

Chiniot will be developed into a model district. — Hamza Shahbaz Sharif

The daily Jang, Lahore; July 2, 2009

The CIA planned the 9/11 — Liaquat Baloch (of JI)

The daily Waqt, Lahore; July 21, 2009

Qadianis, the enemies of Pakistan, wish to transfer (Pakistan’s) nuclear assets to the UN — Khatme Nabuwwat Conference (in London)

The daily Ausaf, Lahore; July 25, 2009

Qadianis who defiled the Pak flag (allegedly in London) should be hanged upside down. — Tahaffuz Khatme Nabuwwat

Pak High Commissioner should be fired and tried for treason. Leaders demand.

The daily Aman, Faisalabad; July 15, 2009

Qadianis are not allowed to follow Islamic practices (Sha’ere Islam). Their slaves should stop supporting them. — Ulama-e-Ahle Sunnat

Qadianis are the enemies of Islam, Pakistan and the Freedom Movement

Pakistan was created by the Ahle Sunnat. …Qadianis can reside here only as a non-Muslim minority in accordance with the law and constitution…. Qadianis’ slaves should stop supporting them, or be prepared to meet their end. … It was decided to hold a massive rally on Thursday, August 13, 2009 as the Message of Muhammad Conference (Paighame Mustafa) in Rawlakot, the city of Mujahids and Ghazis. …

The daily Ausaf, Lahore; July 1, 2009

Chenab Nagar has become a depot of problems due to negligence of the administration.

Filth piles everywhere, broken roads, overflowing gutters and foul smell have made residents’ life difficult.

Risk of outbreak of epidemics. Problems should be solved: residents appeal to higher authorities.

The daily Din, Lahore; July 14, 2009

Dawa expanding operations in AJK (Azad Jummu and Kashmir): Report

The Daily Times, Lahore; July 1, 2009

Forces recover 200 children indoctrinated for suicide attacks. ‘Apart from us all are infidels,’ (they were told).

Children’s ages range from 6 to 13. Children are so motivated that they are ready to kill their parents. Bashir Bilor, Senior Minister NWFP

The daily Jinnah, Lahore; July 28, 2009

(Madrassah) Darul Ulum Haqqania Akura Khattak was the center of activities in the movement to present the Nifaz Shariat Bill in the Senate.

The government of Pakistan has declared that donations made to the (Madrassah) Haqqani are tax-free.

The daily Ausaf, Lahore; July 21, 2009

Seven (Christians) burnt alive in Gojra violence.

The daily Dawn, Lahore; August 2, 2009

Christians’ homes burnt over ‘desecration’ (in Gojra)

The daily Dawn, Lahore; August 1, 2009

Protest in Gujranwala against burning 150 Christians’ houses and molestation of women (in Kasur)

The daily Waqt, Lahore; July 10, 2009

Supreme Court refuses bail for ‘blasphemer

The bench, consisting of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ijaz Ahmad and Justice Jawwad S Khawja, was hearing the bail plea of Baba Zaman.

…Zaman then moved the Supreme Court, which also upheld the LHC’s (Lahore High Court) decision and rejected the bail plea. The CJP observed that it was a sensitive matter. He also ordered the trial court to dispose it within three months.

The Daily Times, Lahore; July 1, 2009

The Punjab Police stole items worth Rs. 94.1 billion seized during policing.

The budget for the police has gone up from Rs. 7 billion to 30 billion but the crime has gone up between 5 to 33 percent. Report of the Interior Division

The daily Jang, Lahore; July 2, 2009

Save victims of blasphemy law. — National Commission for Justice and Peace

The Daily Times, Lahore; July 3, 2009

LHC CJ takes notice of burning of Christians’ houses in Kasur

The Daily Times, Lahore; July 10, 2009

Five hurt as police (IJT) students clash (in Lahore)

The daily Dawn, Lahore; July 29, 2009

SC clears Nawaz in plane hijacking case

The Daily Times, Lahore; July 18, 2009

Op-eds

Fires of hate in Gojra

Only a few weeks ago, rows upon rows of houses belonging to Christians were set on fire in Kasur. Compensation was promised to the affected but while the government might have felt satisfied over the ‘final settlement’ of the issue, observers were shocked by the ferocity and freedom with which the act of violence was carried out. Gojra reconfirms the fear that the state is finding it harder with the passage of time to protect citizens under attack by vengeful, organized and well-armed groups. It is one of the grimiest examples of the tattered nature of our social fabric.

The editorial in the Dawn, Lahore; August 2, 2009

Pakistan’s assets and liabilities

He (President Zardari) recently told a foreign newspaper that Pakistan’s former “assets” – the Jihidis and Mujahideen and Taliban – had now become ‘liabilities’ who were posing an existential threat to the state and the country.

The editorial in the Friday Times, Lahore; July 10, 2009

In a letter to Sufi Muhammad… (from Dr Asrar)

…You are absolutely right in that the gravest Kufr (Un-Islam) and Shirk (polytheism) of the present age is the democracy of this era.

…The same is true for the state (Sultanate) of Pakistan. In principle and in constitution it is ‘Islamic’ but in practice it is Fasiq (sinful) and Fajir (fornicator, unchaste — Ferozsons).

…… If by the grace of Allah the Islamic Nizame Adl and the Sharia is imposed in Malakand in a special way, just like (the special status of) Tribal Areas in Pakistan or the status of Kashmir in the Indian Constitution, and by residing in full peace and harmony within Pakistan, its blessings will spread like the rays of the solar disc first in the NWFP, then in entire Pakistan and eventually in the whole world.

Dr Asrar Ahmad: Nida-i-Khilafat; Lahore; June 8, 2009