Banner against Ahmadis not removed despite passing 10 days

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Banner against Ahmadis not removed despite passing 10 days

By: Syed Danish Hussain | Published: November 20, 2011

RAWALPINDI — It seems that city administration is waiting for occurrence of some untoward incident against Ahmadi community, as despite passage of several days the administration has not removed a number of banners demanding end to religious activities of the community on every Friday in a house located in E-block of Satellite Town.

It was approximately 10 days ago when residents of E-Block, who at all don’t have any problem with holding of religious activities by Ahmadi community on every Friday in a building near Holy Family hospital, saw hanging banners around the locality demanding “immediate end of unconstitutional activities by Qadyanis in E-block.”

The banners are displayed by some “action committee” which wants an immediate end to religious gatherings of the community people at their worship place.

As, according to them, the security measures taken by police as well as administration of the worship place are bothersome for the residents of the area.

A resident of the area, whose house is located few yards away from the worship place of Ahmadis, when interviewed, said that these banners were leaving a bad image on the hearts and minds of his schoolchildren. He said, though a link road in front of the worship place is closed down for every kind of movement for one hour on every Friday, it never created trouble for them.

He said such banners were a source of distress for them more than the activities of Ahmadis. He also said that those who were hanging banners in the area mentioning “area residents” on them were not at all living in the area.

He also criticised the administration of the city for not removing at earliest all such stuff from the streets and roads of the area that were creating hatred for the minority.

When contacted, one of the members of the administration of worship place of Ahmadis, termed such banners a conspiracy and a source of great danger for the community.

Wishing not to be named, he said the banners were getting the attention of more and more people with each passing day and it was alarming.

“We are frightened of being targeted on this baseless propaganda. It is like playing with the emotions of minority that is already facing a social boycott like situation in the country,” he added.

He also argued that people behind this activity were of the view that Ahmadis were using a residential building for worship place but it is a matter of fact that hundreds of residential units across the city were converted into mosques.

He said if something wrong occurred or someone tried to attack their worship place in the area, the administration of the city would be responsible for that.

He said the community was not doing anything unconstitutional, as inscribed on the banners.

The building belongs to Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, a registered organisation, he added.

DCO Rawalpindi Saqib Zafar did not respond to several calls made by this scribe for his comments on the issue.

URL: http://nation.com.pk/pakistan...passing-10-days

Minority report

	Sun, Nov 20, 2011, Zilhaj 22, 1432 A.H
Opinion
Minority report

Sana Bucha
Sunday, November 20, 2011

Blood, meat and hides marked the first day of Eid-ul-Azha in Pakistan. While most Muslims celebrated their holy festival by sacrificing animals, some decided to achieve new levels of faith by targeting Hindus in Shikarpur. Three doctors were shot dead in broad daylight in Chak Town, allegedly, after a conflict arose between the Bhayo tribe and the Hindu community over a dancing girl.

Prior to the murders, the issue had already captured the attention of the local elders and a jirga was to be convened after Eid. Threats were issued to the Hindu community and reported to the local police but to no avail. Why is it that the government machinery only comes into motion after a tragedy has unfolded? The president and prime minister have both condemned the murders and ordered an inquiry. The police have since been prompt in arresting many from the Bhayo tribe. As anybody in Pakistan will tell you, arrests don’t necessarily mean justice. This is not the only case of Hindus being discriminated against in Pakistan – Sindh, long known for the wisdom of renowned Sufis and saints, is now home to a whole new brand of faith.

This ghastly incident takes me back to another instance in Lahore last year, when two shrines of the minority Ahmadi sect were attacked, leaving more than 90 people dead. Threats to Ahmadis were ignored then too, and calls for greater government protection in the future fell on deaf ears.

A few months ago, Faisalabad was witness to brazen warnings on Ahmadis; pamphlets labelling members of the Ahmadi community “wajib-ul-qatal” were distributed comprising names and identities of Ahmadi industrialists, doctors and businessmen. Most recently, Ahmadi residents in Lahore’s Satellite Town have been asked to leave or face dire consequences. This because they have established their place of worship which is deemed ‘unconstitutional’ by some.

It surprises me that we have forgotten those very people who helped draft the resolution that gave us Pakistan. Mohammad Zafarullah Khan was an Ahmadi but it was he who drafted the Pakistan Resolution and represented the Muslim League’s view when it came to deciding the future boundaries between India and Pakistan. He also served as Pakistan’s first minister for foreign affairs. Jinnah with his liberal views chose men to represent his country on merit, not religion, caste or creed. Pakistan’s first law minister was a Hindu who had more faith in Jinnah’s liberal views than the Congress’ secular ones; hence he decided to stay in Pakistan. Mandal was supposed to draft the first constitution of Pakistan; however he never got around to staying here long enough to see that to fruition. He resigned from the cabinet due to the consistent persecution of Hindus in Pakistan and moved back to India shortly after Jinnah’s death.

Encouraging persecution of minorities in Pakistan allows intolerance to flourish and has created precisely the kind of second-class citizenry in Pakistan – with uncertain rights and prejudiced values – that the country’s democratic principles were expected to avoid. For 64 years the whole point has been to come to some sort of conclusion as to whether this Islamic Republic of Pakistan can accommodate minorities without threatening their person, faith and livelihood. The idea has been to remove ambiguities and knock off a predominant holier-than-thou attitude towards Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis and Parsis. That clarity was in part, intended for the welfare of the existing minorities, so they could break free from their trap of uncertainty and insecurity. With a secular party at the helm, was this too much to ask for?

As religious historian Karen Armstrong stated recently: “like art, religion is difficult to do well and is often done badly.” The way to experiencing art is through an artist’s eyes. Similarly, religion is usually judged by how it is followed. The secular Pakistan Peoples Party distanced its views from those of Maulvi Nawaz Sharif’s – the alleged closet Taliban. However, it was “Maulvi Sahib” who made his way to Chak town and personally conveyed his condolences to the bereaved Hindu families. It was Sharif who pleaded to the Hindu community not to leave Pakistan, not our “secular” ruling party or its equally “secular” allies, the ANP or the MQM.

Pakistan’s minority dilemma is complex because secularism and conservatism don’t go their separate ways, but come together. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was considered Pakistan’s most secular and liberal leader, however by adopting the Objectives Resolution in the 1973 constitution, he ended up empowering conservative forces.

Similarly, the man who promised Pakistan “enlightened moderation” also gave way to the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s regime gave more power to the maulvis than any other government in Pakistan. Claiming to be Pakistan’s ray of hope, Imran Khan too has disappointed his secular voters (and some party workers). In an interview with Indian journalist Karan Thapar, Khan said he realised the need to ban militant organisations however, when asked to take names, he refused. Khan said he knew the threat that looms large since the Governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, was murdered and hence would not endanger his own life by taking names. And his motto is? You guessed it! Change.

However, it seems the most conservative leader has turned out to be the most secular. From his proposed policy of looking inward for a solution to the war on terror, to envisioning an open trade and better relations with India, Nawaz Sharif has ended up doing what the PPP has long promised. But there are still question marks on some of his party’s leaders harbouring relations with banned outfits and participating in their rallies. His own brother and chief minister of Punjab had previously pleaded with the Taliban not to attack Punjab because of their anti-US policy. As if the other three provinces are in complete disagreement with the views of the TTP and therefore deserve to die.

Persecution of minorities in Pakistan is on a steady rise. It’s not only non-Muslims who are under threat; the minority Muslim sects are also bearing its brunt. In the last two years, almost every important day in the Shiite calendar has been witness to attacks. There have also been attacks on religious shrines of Data Darbar, Abdullah Shah Ghazi and Baba Farid. Scholars who disavowed this form of brutal violence as un-Islamic were either martyred like Maulana Sarfaraz Naeemi and Maulana Hasan Jaan, or they had to flee the country.

Come to think of it, one way or the other, we are all minorities – Punjabis in Balochistan, Mohajirs in Punjab, Pashtuns in Sindh, Baloch in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – we are all victims of this prejudice. Will we realise, in time, what we don’t condemn today for others could very well be our fate tomorrow.

The writer works for Geo TV.

The News International - Copyright @ 2010-20
URL: www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=78453&Cat=9

Ahmadiyah Mosque in Duren Sawit Sealed

Ahmadiyah Mosque in Duren Sawit Sealed

BERITAJAKARTA.COM — 11/17/2011 7:42:52 PM

A building which used as Mosque by Ahmadiyah pilgrim on Jl Madrasah Block J No. 28 at RT 02/10, Durensawit, East Jakarta was sealed by East Jakarta Building Supervision and Control (P2B) Sub-Department on Thursday (11/17) due to its building had violated building permit. In the permit, two-story building which established above land with 200 square meters width was only a house. But in fact, the house was used as Mosque by the owner. In this sealing, there was no resistance from building’s owner in the location.

Task Executor (Plt) of East Jakarta Supervision and Control Sub-Department Head, Bambang Sudjimanto who led directly this sealing stated that his party has sent the first warning letter (SP) 1 until third warning letter before sealing. By sealing, he hopes there is no more activity which done by Ahmadiyah in the mosque. “We had sent warning letter. But, they ignored it until we finally did seal to its building,” he expressed, Thursday (11/17).

District Head of Durensawit, Wahyu Supriatna said that after doing sealing, his party will also control them every day for 24 hours. It is conducted as an effort to prevent conflict which can occur anytime. If there found the same activity, they will follow up it firmly.

Meanwhile, Azis (27), one of Ahmadiyah pilgrim who is also as mosque manager stated that since brawl in Cikeusik, Pandeglang, Banten some time ago, it causes no more activity in the mosque. If there any activity, it is only the implementation ied ul Adha prayer and slaughtering to the qurban cattle several days ago. In fact, only about 60 pilgrims from Duren Sawit, Kramatjati and Tebet who joined it.

As matter of fact, the activity inside the mosque has been going on since 1997 ago. But, after sealing, he plans to report it to Jakarta Ahmadiyah manager.

He continued that a house which used as the mosque is awqaf house from Abdul Somad who is a manager of Ahmadiyah in East Jakarta. “Previously, there were about 300 pilgrims who active in this mosque. Besides before brawl in Cikeusik, they routinely held recitation in the mosque,” he said. — Translator: adi

URL: www.beritajakarta.com/2008/en/newsview.aspx?idwil=0&id=21164

CJ urged to take action against land grabbing

Monday, September 19, 2011

CJ urged to take action against land grabbing

Published: September 19, 2011

CHINIOT — Advocate Supreme Court Malik Rab Nawaz has appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to take suo motu action against Qadiani Jama’at which is not accepting the amendment in constitution that declares it as non-Muslim jama’at.

Addressing the 6th Khatam-e-Nabuwat Conference under the auspicious of Khatam-e-Nabuwat Lawyers Forum here on Thursday, he said that Qadianis had refused to accept the non-Muslim status and entering their names in voter lists as Muslims. He also urged Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take notice of Qadiani land mafia which had grabbed hundred acres of govt land situated at Chenab nagar (Chak Dhigyan).

Rab Nawaz highlighted that Qadianis Jama’at had occupied all the land of high way, railway and mineral department and the land of River Chenab’s old bridge road in the name of grassy plots and tree plantation. He demanded the CM to direct the Chiniot DCO and Chenab Nagar TMA to get this land free.

He further said Qadianis, violating the rules and directions of State Bank, had made private exchange bank where hundi system was on the rise. He asked the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to take immediate notice of this violation. He demanded the authorities concerned to create a column of non-Muslims in identity card for Qadianis.

Paying tribute to the leaders and workers of Tehreek Khatam-e-Nabuwat, he commemorated their sacrifices and struggles during the movement.

URL: http://nation.com.pk/pakistan...against-land-grabbing

Ahmadis under attack: In Rabwah, every house has a story to tell

Pakistan

Ahmadis under attack: In Rabwah, every house has a story to tell

By Saba Imtiaz
Published: July 12, 2011

The tombstones in Rabwah's graveyards tell a macabre tale. PHOTO: SABA IMTIAZ/EXPRESS

RABWAH: The tombstones in Rabwah’s graveyards tell a macabre tale. The graves of the men killed in the attacks on Ahmadi places of worship in Lahore – retired army officers and young factory workers among them – rest with the dozens killed due to the persecution of the Ahmadiyya community.

The graveyards have been defiled in the past as locals have released animals in the graveyards or trod on the graves.

Other tombstones in a row show how entire families were systematically killed.

“If you knock at any door in Rabwah, you will find a story of persecution,” says Amir Mahmood, who works at the Jamaat Ahmadiyya’s press section.

One door leads to a prominent Ahmadi family from Mardan. Despite years of harassment, lawsuits, imprisonment and a kidnapping, the family’s men vowed to stay in Mardan. Four of them were gunned down. “After my father’s assassination I told my husband to be more careful. But he wasn’t scared,” says Rabia Mehmood, who was expecting her first child when her husband was killed.

Another door leads to Bushra Siddiqui’s family. She lives with her two widowed daughters, whose husbands were killed because of their faith.

Siddiqui’s daughter Asma Ahsan says her husband was praying at Darul Zikr in Lahore when it was besieged last May. She received a phone call from him, informing her that he was safe. Later, she learned that he had been killed. To add insult to injury, several neighbours did not offer condolences.

While the May 2010 carnage highlighted the systematic campaign of violence against Ahmadis, it did not end there. Three days later, a man entered Naimatullah’s house in Narowal district and stabbed him to death. His daughter Sidra recalls waking up to an “awful noise”. She rushed to the courtyard, where her dying father lay. The assassin was caught a few hours later, roaming around a seminary after Fajr prayers. He was reportedly ‘inspired’ to kill Naimutallah after being incited by local clerics.

“Nobody is safe in this country,” says Malik Munawwar Ahmad, the 78-year-old head of Darul Ziafat, which carries out the decades-old tradition in the community of housing and feeding travellers.

For Ahmadis, every day brings forth new incidents of harassment. In Vehari, clerics recently called for the Kalima to be erased from Ahmadi places of worship. The Jamaat’s representative in Vehari says the threat – from the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat movement and the Majlis-e-Ahrar – emanated from a land dispute over an Ahle Hadith mosque, which was unrelated to the Ahmadiyya community. He said the community would not give in to the clerics’ threats and would wait for the area administration’s decision.

“There was always opposition to us, but the 1974 and 1984 amendments created a storm,” says Ahmad. “But our silent protest is being recorded with God, and He will announce His decision.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2011.

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/207776/ahmadis...to-tell/

Thinking proactively: Ahmadis have found their own solutions in Rabwah

Pakistan

Thinking proactively: Ahmadis have found their own solutions in Rabwah

By Saba Imtiaz
Published: July 11, 2011

Over 80% patients at the Tahir Heart Institute are not from community. PHOTO: SABA IMTIAZ/EXPRESS

RABWAH: When a fire broke out at a building in Chiniot, the district administration called the rescue service in Rabwah for help.

The irony that the Chiniot building was owned by a member of the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat movement is not lost to Rabwah’s rescue services. A former tae kwon do instructor with the Pakistan Army, Nadir Saidain says the fire service was started because the district administration refused to assist in rescue operations in Rabwah town.

The service, like many others in the area – such as a 200-bed guest house – is free. Other facilities, including a sports centre and swimming pool, are heavily subsidised.

Despite the ostracism of Ahmadis in mainstream society, the community’s facilities draw people of all faiths to Rabwah.

The gleaming 80-bed Tahir Heart Institute is one example. Over 80 per cent of its patients are not Ahmadis. Its head, Dr MMH Nuuri, says the hospital does not have any discriminatory policies. Admission forms do not ask for the patient’s religion, and preaching in the premises is not allowed.

Up to 300 people are treated daily, many of whom hide details of their visits. According to Dr Nuuri, “I overheard a patient talking on the phone and telling someone he was under treatment in Sargodha. The patient later said, ‘Sorry doctor, but if people know I am in Rabwah I will not be spared.’”

Treatment is free, but those who can afford it contribute towards the cost. Referrals come in from cardiologists across Pakistan, and it has attracted doctors from abroad to practice for short stints.

“Our doctors have to be committed towards their profession,” Dr Nuuri said. “Our philosophy is that the patient is always right and doctors have to abide by their wishes.”

The hospital is one of many in Pakistan built by the Ahmadiyya community. Healthcare, along with other areas that would normally be the domain of the district’s administration – such as security and sanitation – are all managed by the community, since the administration is lax in its duties.

Reminders of the government’s negligence are visible all over Rabwah. The community’s schools, which were nationalised in the 1970s, were never returned. Tahir Ahmad, who handles education projects, maintains a list of government officials he has met since 1996 to lobby for the return of the schools to the community’s control. Despite complying with the government’s requirement to deposit an amount comprising fees and schools’ staff allowances for six months to one year, the government refuses to denationalise the schools, citing “law and order” as a reason.

Ahmad recalls a conversation with then-outgoing Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Rasool. “Young man, you are an Ahmadi,” Rasool reportedly said. “You are not going to get these schools back.”

The community has built new schools and provides scholarships and soft loans. As a result, Rabwah reportedly has a literacy rate of over 90 per cent. One such school – with a modern lab, well-stocked library and spacious classrooms – charges a monthly fee of Rs25.

The schools provide a safe environment for students who would be harassed elsewhere. Young graduates told The Express Tribune about being shunned for their faith or told to ‘join the right way’. One student who was asked to leave his hostel because of his faith has not recovered from the incident as yet, and is reluctant to complete his education.

Even though Ahmadi families were discriminated against during last year’s floods, the community has provided housing and aid to families – irrespective of their beliefs – in flood-affected areas. “We were taking relief goods to Rajanpur once,” recalls a representative. “We were stopped on the way and asked, “You are taking relief goods to Ahmadis? Don’t you know they are non-believers?”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2011.

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/207111/thinking..rabwah/

Pakistan’s persecuted minorities: For Ahmadi refugees in Thailand, problems double back home

Pakistan

Pakistan’s persecuted minorities: For Ahmadi refugees in Thailand, problems double back home

By Abdul Manan
Published: July 5, 2011

A Pakistani refugee who is a member of the Ahmadiyya, an Islamic minority sect, carries his daughter as he is released from a detention centre in Bangkok June 6, 2011. PHOTO: REUTERS/ FILE

BANGKOK: Irfanul Mulk may have been able to find temporary shelter in Thailand, but those who forced him out of Pakistan are now flexing their muscles to bring him back.

Irfan, 27, left his village Taban in Punjab’s Sheikhupura district after he and his two brothers Furqanul Mulk, 21, and Umer Sultan, 31, were held under Pakistan Penal Code’s Section 298-C which prohibits Ahmadis from calling themselves Muslim or “in any manner whatsoever outrages the religious feelings of Muslims”. A police case was lodged against them but residents refused to calm down, and the three men decided to leave the country.

“When people of the village learnt about our detention and asylum applications, they approached the Sheikhupura District police chief and submitted an application seeking our repatriation to Pakistan calling us traitors who had maligned the country abroad,” Irfan told The Express Tribune.

Since then, the police have raided their home several times and their elder brother Haider Sultan, who stayed back in Pakistan, is facing constant threats.

Representatives of the Tehrik-i-Khatm-i-Nubuwat, an organisation that has repeatedly attacked the Ahmadiyya community for its religious beliefs, have even written to the US Embassy in Pakistan, warning them against giving American nationality to Irfan and his brothers.

But while Irfan and his brothers had to suffer at the hands of their neighbours, there are others who have been persecuted by their own families.

Syed Altaf Hussain Bukhari, the grandson of a renowned pir* whose shrine is located on the outskirts of Islamabad, moved to Thailand in November 2010 with his wife Sadia and their two children. They were forced to flee after his family cut off ties with them for having converted in 1996 to the Ahmadi faith and even subjected him to physical torture.

“When I announced that I was becoming an Ahmadi, my brothers and a cousin, who was the caretaker of the shrine at that point, immediately denounced their relationship with me,” he said. His brothers started telling followers that he was not their real brother as their father had adopted him. Pamphlets bearing his photograph were distributed in Sheikhupura, calling him liable to be murdered.

To protect his wife and children, Altaf, who survived the deadly attacks on Ahmadiyya worship places in Lahore in May 2010, left his ancestral village to move to Sheikhupura and eventually, in 2003, he moved to Lahore where they went into hiding.

Once his people back home learnt that he was seeking asylum in Thailand, they started threatening his father-in-law as well.

Shahid Mehmood, who fled from Multan where he had an established business, said that he had witnessed the beheading of two Ahmadi doctors in March 2009 and insisted on registering an FIR against a pir for instigating his followers to murder Ahmadis. “His followers would visit my shop daily and try to persuade me to withdraw the case,” says Mehmood. “I went to three senior police officers who threw the file in my face and told me that they were followers of [the pir] and could not dare to proceed against him.”

But after another Ahmadi man Rana Ataul Kareem was murdered in August 2009 and the case was traced back to the pir, Mehmood started to receive threats. In September 2010, Mehmood, his wife and four children, arrived in Bangkok.

Back home, Mehmood’s shops have been closed and his house has been sealed.

Many families decided to send younger members abroad while parents stayed back. Aamir Ali, 22, left his village Pasrur in Punjab’s Sialkot district along with his three sisters. But after news of them seeking asylum spread, villagers started to taunt their mother, who has had to regularly switch homes.

* The name of the pir is being withheld on the request of Bukhari.

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

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/202641/pakistans-persecuted.../

Insecure minorities: Threatened at home, jailed abroad

Pakistan

Insecure minorities: Threatened at home, jailed abroad

By Abdul Manan
July 04, 2011

The refugees, all members of the Ahmadi community, had been in detention for more than six months. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

BANGKOK: Tahir Mehmood Adil, an Ahmadi from Sialkot, was kidnapped in 2009 by militants, held captive for 36 days and threatened with beheading. His cousin, Sajjad, negotiated successfully for his release. A few days later, however, Sajjad was shot dead and Adil received a text message saying he would be next.

That was when Adil fled to Thailand with his wife and three children. On arrival, he was arrested by Thai immigration authorities who tore up their asylum papers and took them to Bangkok’s notorious Immigration Detention Cell (IDC). The family was detained here for the next seven months in the most inhumane conditions.

Detained refugees

Adil is one of 96 such refugees from Pakistan whose fate hangs in balance as they are transferred from one detention centre to another, despite having their status recognised by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

By December 2010, the Thai immigration bureau detained 91 Pakistanis seeking asylum on grounds of religious persecution in their home country. Another 38 were detained in the early months of 2011.

Of the 131 Ahmadis at Bangkok’s Suan Phlu IDC, 35 were sent back in the last week of December. The remaining 96 refused to budge on grounds that it amounted to suicide. These persons were finally released with the support of the Thai committee for refugees in June.

The group now reports to the immigration bureau every month. Their situation has improved as compared to their time in the IDC but they are not allowed to leave their residence without permission from the local police.

Inhumane conditions

This group, including 34 children, now lives in two separate confinement centres and apartments in a Bangkok suburb. Each family has a single room. For them there is some light at the end of the tunnel. The refugees are awaiting resettlement to third countries, mainly the US.

The conditions at the detention centre were worse, says Adil as he looks back at his time there. The cells where they were detained were designed to hold around 40 but housed 150 detainees. Women and children were separated from the men.

The choice was clear. Stay in the IDC or go back to Pakistan. It is an unending battle. Two of the detainees who have been in IDC for 23 months were granted bail but the UNHCR refused to recognise their status. Two others who were at the last step of their resettlement process were told to repeat the entire process.

Painful process

Adil told The Express Tribune that everyone had a story to tell. He acknowledged that even though they were aware of Thailand not being a signatory to the UNHCR’s convention on refugees, their fate in Pakistan was one which would be worse and that is why they decided to come here.

Adil said that the process of seeking asylum and refugee status from UNHCR was lengthy and painful. He said interviews don’t take place for months, much beyond the mandatory three-month period. The resettlement is another lengthy process in which refugees are informed about their final destination.

Individual stories

The stories go on. Qamar and Mansoor who had been in the centre for the last two years had been granted bail but they were later refused refugee status. After their release, their resettlement process had slowed down.

One Rana Qamar had been detained along with his two children while his wife was in Pakistan. Qamar’s 11 year old daughter, Areesha, was detained for seven months all alone.

Another detainee, Adnan Rashid, said that he was in detention but his wife and two children were not. He feared for them.

Doctors who escaped targeted killings at home are also part of the group. Dr Hafeez Ahmad, who hails from Karachi said that after his colleagues, Dr Hameedullah Shah and Dr Najamul Hassan were shot dead he decided to leave. But not after shifting his clinic four times in a bid to discourage those targeting him.

Kashif Butt whose wife gave birth to their child in the IDC recalls his horrible experience. When his wife was taken to the nearby hospital, her legs were tied so she could not run away. In another case, a Pakistani woman’s feet were bound when she went in for a caesarean procedure.

Every day is a living hell for many. The Ahmadiyya Community representative in Thailand Imran Ahmad told The Express Tribune that the future of those family members who later joined their next of kin hangs in balance.

Despite all the frustration and the fear, most are fearful of returning to Pakistan. Some laugh and others cry at the mention of their home country. But all pray for their future and for those left behind.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2011.

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: tribune.com.pk/story/202056/insecure-minorities.../

Sensitive investigations: Police ignore court’s ruling on blasphemy cases

Pakistan Punjab

Sensitive investigations: Police ignore court’s ruling on blasphemy cases

By Rana Tanveer
Published: June 27, 2011

All accused will be given full right of defence by the board of inquiry.

LAHORE: Provincial police is either ignorant or dismissive of Lahore High Court’s instructions regarding the investigation of blasphemy cases, piling misery on those accused of the offence.

A division bench of the Lahore High Court comprising Justice Ali Nawaz Chawhan and Justice Rustam Ali Malik, while deciding a murder reference in offences under section 295-A and 295-C in August 2002, directed the inspector-general of police (IGP) Lahore “to ensure that whenever [a blasphemy] case is registered, it be entrusted for purposes of investigation to a team of at least two gazette investigating officers, preferably those conversant with Islamic jurisprudence.”

In the event that the officers are not conversant with Islamic law, “a scholar of known reputation and integrity may be added to the team … [to] investigate whether a [blasphemy] offence is committed or not,” the ruling added.

The ruling conceded that cases of blasphemy are on the rise and at times, “elements of mischief have also been observed to be involved.”

Since the passing of this ruling, however, not a single case has been investigated by a panel of two gazette officers and one religious scholar, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The cases are usually investigated by assistant sub-inspectors, or in the event of a high-profile case, the inspector in charge of investigation.

Neither the deputy superintendent police (DSP) nor an SP get involved in such cases owing to their sensitivity, sources say.

Guilty until proven innocent

Shahid Butt, a blasphemy accused presently on bail, told The Express Tribune that despite his struggle, the SP concerned refuses to be involved in the investigation.

Inspector Aftab Shah of Batapur police station had been investigating into his case, he added.

Because of incompetent investigators, I spent five months in prison, said Butt, adding that he was released when his case was taken up by the court.

LHC judgment ‘not mandatory’

Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Capt (r) Liaqat Ali Malik told The Express Tribune that all cases of blasphemy are investigated by an SP.

An inspector, or any official below this rank, does not have the authority to investigate such cases according to law, he said.

When asked about the LHC judgment which made two SPs mandatory to investigate blasphemy cases, Malik said that they follow the Pakistan Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.

Any judgment besides those was not binding upon them, he added. Advocate Muhammad Anis Saadi, however, told The Express Tribune that the LHC judgment was binding upon the police officers.

If the LHC had issued instructions to the IGP in this regard, the IGP must have conveyed the message to all SPs concerned to ensure its implementation, he added.

An SP, on condition of anonymity, said that no such instructions had been received from the IGP office.

He added that most SPs are ignorant of the issue and adopt the conventional methods in investigating blasphemy cases.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2011.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/197202/sensitive-investigations-police-ignore-courts-ruling-on-blasphemy-cases/

Ahmadis in Karachi: Pulpit pounding, barricades, prayers but no peace

Pakistan Sindh

Ahmadis in Karachi: Pulpit pounding, barricades, prayers but no peace

By Saba Imtiaz
Published: June 19, 2011

The minority has been under constant attack even though it keeps a low profile.

KARACHI: On a Friday afternoon, there is pin-drop silence around the Ahmadi place of worship in Karachi’s Drigh Road area. Worshippers quietly enter through a side door, watched over by a number of men on patrol and security cameras affixed to the building.

Just down the lane, the imam of Bilal Masjid peppers his sermon with anti-Ahmadi remarks. The strains of his sermon can be heard throughout the neighbourhood, including the men standing guard outside their place of worship.

Friday prayers are under way in both buildings, but only one congregation is allowed to practice its faith openly.

At the crossroads of the mosque and the place of worship is a marker for the ‘Khatm-e-Nabuwwat’ roundabout, a silent but potent public reminder of the power of the religio-political party in Pakistan. “There was a rally here a few months ago,” recalls a resident. “About 2,000 people attended and it was organised by the Tahaffuz Namoos-e-Risalat movement. They reaffirmed their faith in the finality of the Prophethood (peace be upon him), and then decided to rename this roundabout as a memento of the rally. After all, we are all Muslims, this is our faith.”

Sunni Tehreek (ST) flags flutter in the area, whose walls are covered with grafitti, declaring the area to be Sunni Nagar. “These clerics, Sunni Tehreek… they’re all one and the same,” remarks a shopkeeper who has worked near the Ahmadi place of worship for 25 years. He has witnessed the area’s clerics raging against the Ahmadiyya community for placing barricades near their place of worship. There have been incidents of firing in the area as well. Thoughtfully, he says, “The problem is that Muslims have increasingly become intolerant.”

A poster for a June 2 Tahaffuz Namoos-e-Risalat conference is still plastered to the wall of the Ahmadis’ building. A few months ago, activists reportedly barged in and demanded that the Kalima, a verse declaring Muslim faith, be erased from a wall within the place of worship’s premises.

“This centre has been here since before you or I were born,” says the shopkeeper. Another resident said it was at least 40 years old.

Attendance at prayers at Ahmadi places of worship in Karachi has slowly picked up after the 2010 Lahore attacks. “We have stopped women and children from coming to the centres because we fear that they will be targeted first, similar to the Lahore attacks,” says Masood Khan, a senior representative of the Ahmadiyya community. “Praying is also difficult and it gets quite suffocating – we have to close all the windows and doors so that no sound can be heard outside.”

Outside is where a mob — literally and physically —exists. Just like the cleric at Bilal Masjid, mosque speakerphones are regularly used to incite hatred.

While Punjab has been the breeding ground for anti-Ahmadi sentiment, the minority in Sindh faces targeted assassinations, discrimination and blasphemy cases filed on flimsy charges. Reviled due to a decades-old campaign, Ahmadis have nowhere to turn to, not even the state. A lieutenant, who was awarded the Sword of Honour, was forced to leave the navy because his faith meant he would never be promoted. A woman was widowed twice because her husbands were practicing doctors. Flyers are openly distributed, asking people to boycott Ahmadi-run businesses and execute their owners.

“We have brought these incidents … to the police’s notice so many times,” says Khan. “But they do nothing beyond occasionally sending a policeman or two.”

The police also have their own biases. Khan recalls that two officers refused to drink water offered to them by Ahmadis. “The Central Investigation Department has several men in its custody who confessed that they wanted to target Ahmadis and Shias. But they have never been presented in court.”

Even then, Khan says, the police in Karachi are better than those in the Punjab. Khan praises former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza for proactively listening to their problems. “The police will at least send someone. The security apparatus was concerned after the attacks in Lahore and we discussed measures. But we asked for Rangers to be deployed on Fridays and that has not happened.”

After a lifetime spent in fear, Ahmadis in Karachi who can afford to relocate are packing up their bags. At least 300 to 400 people have reportedly left. The Ahmadiyya community in Karachi is at least 20,000 strong.

Others hail from rural Sindh, especially Sanghar. This district has seen numerous cases of violence and Section 295-C cases (which carries the death penalty) filed by a cleric, Maulana Hamadi. “[He] sits in Sanghar and files cases against people sitting miles away in Rabwah!” exclaims Qaiser Shahzad, a Karachi-based businessman.

In Karachi, Ahmadis living in Mehmoodabad have been gunned down in the past decade, with up to six cases in the last three years alone. One of them included a doctor who chose to work in the poor area. He was killed as he stopped at a speed breaker on his way home. Twenty-five families from Manzoor Colony have emigrated.

“We don’t tell our children that they will face discrimination. We don’t want to poison their minds at a young age,” Khan says. “But at school they are inevitably discriminated against. Our girls come back home and say they don’t want to go to college.”

Ahmadi families prefer sending their children to schools run by Parsis and Christians – also minorities. According to Shahzad, admissions are a no-go once school realise what the family’s faith is.

Intolerance has spread to other areas as well. In Badin, an Ahmadi centre was targeted during an event for women. Incited by a cleric, men besieged the centre for eight hours. It took Zulfiqar Mirza (who was elected as an MPA from Badin) to clamp down. In January, a leaflet threatening an Ahmadi businessman was circulated in Goth Saban Dasti in Badin, which stated: “Such an apostate should be killed and his business should be banned all over Pakistan. We demand that the government of Pakistan take immediate action, otherwise the people will have to do this job on their own.”

Karachi’s business community, according to Khan and Shahzad, is generally accepting of Ahmadis, especially those whose operations have been established for decades. However, Shahzad says in a resigned tone, “You can tell the difference in the way they meet us. They work with us because they have to.”

Discrimination has also swept the armed forces and civil bureaucracy. “From Chaudhry Zafarullah to high-ranking generals, Ahmadis were always represented in the top ranks. But now we barely have a few people at top positions in the civil bureaucracy. In Ziaul Haq’s era, this [discrimination] was implemented — there are no promotions. Ahmadis don’t even clear interviews for government or military jobs now, despite being highly qualified.”

Discrimination, Khan says, is also found among old friends. “I know that they don’t want to dine with me.”

“Look, people believe that we are wajibul qatl [liable to be killed]. This thought is reflected in our assemblies.”

Anti-Ahmadi sentiment and extremism, the men said, has increased in society over the past few years. Laws pertaining to Ahmadis — particularly those introduced in the 1980s — have provided legal backing to the hate being propagated in society. Anti-Ahmadi graffiti routinely appears near places of worship, and the gate of one building was fired on recently in Steel Town. Yet, Khan and Shahzad say, they have learned to live with the ever-present fear. “We are sitting openly,” says Khan. “But someone has to come forward on behalf of the community. We don’t consider ourselves minorities. We are Pakistanis. This is our country.”

Legal exclusion

In 1952, religious parties demanded the removal of Pakistan’s first foreign minister, Sir Chaudhry Zafarullah Khan, who was an Ahmadi. In 1974, after violent demonstrations took place, Jamaat-e-Islami factions demanded that Ahmadis be declared non-Muslims. A constitutional amendment was passed to exclude Ahmadis from Islam. In 1984, amendments were made to ban the usage of Islamic symbols and practices for Ahmadis, such as calling their places of worship a mosque.

Source: International Crisis Group report: ‘The State of Sectarianism in Pakistan’, Jinnah Institute report: ‘A Question of Faith’

A profile

The Sunni Tehreek is a religio-political party that follows the Barelvi school of thought. It has actively campaigned against any amendments to or repeal of the country’s blasphemy laws. ST activists protested against Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer prior to his assassination on June 4 and have supported his assassin Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2011.

URL: tribune.com.pk/story/191813/ahmadis...no-peace/

Pakistani terrorists threaten Ahmadi community

14/06/2011

Pakistani terrorists threaten Ahmadi community

Islamabad, June 14 (IANS) Pakistani terrorists have issued a hit-list of prominent businessmen from the Ahmadi community, saying those who ‘misguide’ the country would be punished with death.

Terrorists have begun distributing pamphlets that say they would start ‘target killings’ of prominent members of the Ahmadi community. The attacks would be launched in Faisalabad, the Daily Times reported.

The Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious movement founded near the end of the 19th century, originating with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908). The followers of the Ahmadiyya sect are referred to as Ahmadis or Ahmadi Muslims.

Sources in law enforcement agencies said different terrorist outfits have joined hands against the Ahmadi community.

The outfits said the Ahmadis of the country were involved in conspiracies against Islam and Pakistan.

The pamphlets state that the act of killing an Ahmadi made an individual a ‘holy warrior’ and the person who would do so ‘would also be blessed by the Holy Prophet on the Day of Judgement’, according to the daily.

‘O Muslim brothers. There are some people among us who are misguiding us and their punishment is death,’ said one of the pamphlets, while another asked if there was anybody who had the courage to teach the Ahmadis a lesson.

One of the pamphlets was distributed by an extremist group that calls itself All Pakistan Students Khatam-e-Nabuwat Federation.

A few Ahmadis told the Daily Times they had been victims of constant persecution by terrorists for decades.

Asian Human Rights Commission Representative Baseer Naveed said it was a matter of serious concern that such pamphlets were being distributed.

Naveed said the government bothered to take steps only after people actually start getting murdered.

©Indo-Asian News Service
URL: http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5208767

Terrorists chalk out plan to target Ahmedis

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Terrorists chalk out plan to target Ahmedis

By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: Terrorists have chalked out a plan regarding target killings of prominent members of the Ahmedi community in the country, starting from Faisalabad, which is the second biggest industrial hub of the province and hometown of Punjab Law Minister, Rana Sanaullah.

Sources in the local law enforcement agencies also revealed that different terrorist organisations have joined together in the mission and they have initiated the campaign through distribution of pamphlets and organising conferences in local seminaries against the Ahmedis.

They also issued a list of prominent Ahmedi businessmen living in Faisalabad and surrounding areas by mentioning their names and addresses, saying that the Ahmedi citizens of the country were involved in conspiracies against Islam and Pakistan.

The pamphlets, containing hit-list of locals who have been working and living in the areas since generations, also state that the act of killing an Ahmedi made an individual a holy warrior and the person who would do so would also be blessed by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) on the Day of Judgment.

“O Muslim brothers. There are some people among us who are misguiding us and their punishment is death,” one of the pamphlets read, further asking if there was anybody who had the courage to teach the Ahmedis a lesson.

The distributed hate material urges people to wake up, become fearless holy warriors and start killing Ahmedis.

One of the pamphlets was distributed by an extremist group named All Pakistan Students Khatam-e-Nabuwat Federation. The hit-list of Ahmedi citizens not only contains names of 32 prominent businessmen but also comprises senior teachers and prominent doctors. Some of the local Ahmedis, while talking to told Daily Times, said, that they had remained a victim of constant persecution by the state and terrorists for decades but none of the previous incidents matched this newly organised campaign against them.

They added that they had informed the government and law enforcement authorities about the threats but to no avail. They said that the local Ahmedis are living under extreme tension after knowing about this campaign and there is no surety from any side, be it the government or any other concerned authority.

Asian Human Rights Commission Representative, Baseer Naveed, told Daily Times that it was a matter of serious concern that these pamphlets were being distributed openly in a city from where more than four ministers were in the cabinets of Punjab and the federal government. He said that the local Ahmedis had requested these ministers many a times in the past to help them, however, they turned a deaf ear to all their appeals.

He stated that a large number of Ahmedis as well as Christians had been living in Faisalabad and its neighbouring cities since the past many years, however, recently the killings, abductions and torture by extremists against these communities had increased under the very nose of the government.

Naveed added that it was a sorry state of affairs that our government had become so reckless that they would only bother to take any steps only when people sctually start getting murdered.

He said that it was astonishing that the Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and opposition leader in Punjab Assembly (PA), Raja Riaz, even though belonging to the same city, conveniently turned a blind eye to the entire situation. Sanaullah was also accused of having ties with a banned terrorist outfit in the area, whose operatives were also accused of planning, executing and leading the massacre of Christians in Gojra in 2009.

However, Punjab government spokesperson and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Pervaiz Rashid told Daily Times that he was not aware about the issue but will immediately ask the local law enforcers to probe and take action against these hate mongers.

He said that the Punjab government had a clear policy regarding protecting the rights of each and every citizen and they will not let these terrorists hijack the whole society. He said that these are the same people who were involved in bombing mosques, shrines and other religious places and their sole aim is to sabotage the country but the government will deal with these people through iron hands.

URL: www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\06\14\story_14-6-2011_pg13_1

Textile City: Politicians turn blind eye to hate pamphlets

Pakistan Punjab

Textile City: Politicians turn blind eye to hate pamphlets

By Shamsul Islam
Published: June 13, 2011

Rights organisation fears mass target killings of Ahmadis in Faisalabad.

FAISALABAD: A rights organisation said it feared large-scale targeted killing of Ahmadis in Faisalabad after pamphlets labelling members of the Ahmadiyya community “Wajibul Qatl” (‘liable to be murdered’), and inciting people to publicly attack followers of the faith, were openly and widely circulated in Faisalabad.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said that “the government has been made fully aware of the threats to the Ahmadiyya community [and] the AHRC urges the government to take immediate action to prevent such killings and destruction of their industrial and commercial establishments.”

The statement bemoaned the insensitivity of elected representatives from the district to the precarious situation brewing in the city.

“The Ahmadiyya community has informed all members of national and provincial assemblies elected from Faisalabad and the local administration through the district commissioner of this serious threat but no one is taking action,” the statement said.

“It is astonishing that provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah, and leader of the opposition in Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz are both aware of the mass appeal to kill Ahmadis but both of them are turning a blind eye to the situation,” it added.

The politicians fear losing their right-wing vote bank by standing up for Ahmadiyya community, the statement said.

“It is alleged that Rana Sanaullah who belongs to Faisalabad, had previously supported the movement against Ahmadis by providing official support to Majlis-e-Khatm-e-Nabuwwat,” the statement added.

The AHRC said it has received information that a plan has been chalked out to kill the owners and family members of 36 commercial and industrial establishments belonging to Ahmadiyya community.

If target killings start, the government will be answerable not only to the Ahmadiyya community but also to citizens of Pakistan and the international community, the statement added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2011.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/187855/textile...pamphlets/

Targeting minorities: No friend to Ahmadis in Faisalabad

Pakistan Punjab

Targeting minorities: No friend to Ahmadis in Faisalabad

By Shamsul Islam
Published: June 9, 2011

Pamphlets calling them liable to be murdered and inciting people to kill them being openly distributed.

FAISALABAD: Pamphlets labelling members of the Ahmadiyya community “Wajibul Qatl” (‘liable to be murdered’), and inciting people to publicly attack followers of the faith, are being openly and widely circulated in Punjab’s textile industry hub Faisalabad, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Even more startling is the fact that the pamphlet contains a list of names of Ahmadi industrialists, doctors and businesses. The first name is that of a cloth house, three owners of which were gunned down in a brazen attack last year.

The pamphlets bear the name of the All-Pakistan Students Khatm-e-Nubuwat Federation and are being handed out at all main shopping plazas and important commercial centres of the city.

The pamphlet says: “To shoot such people is an act of jihad and to kill such people is an act of sawab.”

Reacting sharply over distribution of such literature, Umoor-e-Aama Jama’at Ahmadiyya, Faisalabad, has said that the propaganda campaign being carried out unhindered by some fanatic religious groups under patronage of law-enforcing agencies and the provincial government.

The jama’at has also blamed the Punjab government for ignoring myriad protests lodged by the province’s Ahmadiyya community. It says that such religious fanatics are being encouraged by inaction on the part of government agencies.

The jama’at’s secretary Mahmood Ahmad, in an email addressed to the province’s home secretary and police chief, and Faisalabad’s regional police officer, has written: “We have time and again approached police authorities against hate literature but nothing has been done so far. This collapse of law and order can be traced to the cowardice, inefficiency and incompetence of law enforcement agencies.”

Ahmad points out that it is easy to trace the pamphlet’s source as even its publisher’s mobile number is brazenly given in print. This also shows the publisher’s disdain towards Pakistan’s laws and agencies enforcing them.

“Our mouths have been taped shut. Our hands have been tied. I am writing this in the hope that somewhere somehow this letter finds its way to a patriotic police or other official who takes a fearless stand for the sake of Pakistan,” the email says.

Corroborating the view expressed by Ahmad, police officials seemed reluctant to take the matter seriously.

City police chief Rai Tahir Hussain also said he had no information about the pamphlets.

Faisalabad DSP Mian Khalid also pleaded ignorance on the matter, and said that the Kotwali SHO would have the information.

When contacted, SHO Malik Muhammad Shahid said that since no complaint has been made, there was no question of taking action.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9th, 2011.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/185179/targeting...in-faisalabad/

A question of faith: ‘Repeal blasphemy law or make it flawless’

Pakistan

A question of faith: ‘Repeal blasphemy law or make it flawless’

Published: June 2, 2011

Report documents the deteriorating state of minorities in Pakistan.

A Think Tank working on minority issues in Pakistan has called upon the government to repeal the blasphemy law, or at least amend it to remove all vague terminology to prevent its misuse.

The Jinnah Institute’s report, “A Question of Faith”, also calls for addition of a section in the Pakistan Penal Code making advocacy of religious hatred or incitement to discrimination or violence a punishable offence.

The institute has published 23 recommendations, including the removal of impunity for prayer leaders in mosques, police and judicial reforms and clarification of the status of Federal Shariat Court and the Council of Islamic Ideology. It also calls for an appointment of a “Special Ombudsman” to protect the rights of women and minorities.

The research team interviewed 125 people including minority representatives, victims and non-governmental organisations’ workers all over Pakistan between December 2010 and April 2011. It documents the deterioration in the political, social and economic status of members of religious minorities in Pakistan, “particularly the rising tide of vigilante violence against them”, according to a press release issued by the institute.

The report focuses on Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis, three prominent minority groups in the country. According to the report, the conditions for Christians have deteriorated over the years. The Christians “are on the frontline of the persecution and violence against minority communities.”

Interviews with Christians of different age groups and professions revealed that many of them felt they “are treated as second-class citizens and discriminated against in all aspects of life.” Moreover, most of those who can, do move away from Pakistan. Those who choose to stay back do so because of a “strong sense of commitment to the country and being ‘Pakistani’.”

Christians in rural areas have to deal with instances of their land being grabbed by local Muslim residents and in some of the more serious incidents, the Christian residents did not come back to their homes.

Eighty per cent of the Hindus in Pakistan live in Sindh, and “are victims of caste and wider religious discrimination,” said the report. They do not own lands and work on daily wages, a consequence of them not having any permanent settlement. The report said, “One day, they are with one landlord, the next day with another. And this is how they spend a life of debt, with no accountability or education.”

Their castes have translated into daily life. For instance, Hindus from a lower caste might be restricted to a separate water well in a school, “from which even the Muslims will not drink”.

Higher caste Hindus have their own set of problems to contend with. They live in a state of insecurity and are frequently kidnapped for ransom. For instance, 82-year-old Lakki Chand Garji, a prominent Hindu spiritual leader, was kidnapped on December 21, 2010 and is yet to be traced and rescued.

Then there’s the matter of Hindus being suspected of having sympathy for India. Some Hindus said that “they dealt with the repercussions of the destruction of the Babri Masjid across the border in India in 1992.”

Violence against the Ahmaddiya community has also been on the rise in the past three years, according to the report. The report attributed the increase in violence to maulvis “promoting such attacks and inciting violence in their sermons and in the media.”

Sherry Rehman, President of Jinnah Institute, introduced the report on Tuesday and spoke about the need to reinstate the model of inclusive citizenship envisioned by Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2011.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/180431/a-question-...flawless/

Report on status of religious minorities launched

	Wednesday, Junne 1, 2011, Jamadi-us-Sani 28, 1432 A.H.
Islamabad
Report on status of religious minorities launched

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

A report on the status of religious minorities in Pakistan, titled ‘A Question of Faith’, was launched by the Jinnah Institute. The report is a research study, compiled over the period December 2010-April 2011 and documents the deterioration in the political, social and economic status of members of religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the rising tide of vigilante violence against them, says a press release.

The report was prepared in consultation with members of several religious minorities across the country, human rights organisations and policy experts. It lists recommendations for the redressal of grievances through constitutional amendments, political and judicial reform, sensitisation of media and revision of educational curricula that imparts discrimination or hatred against minorities.

Findings of the report indicate that minorities in the country connect strongly with a Pakistani national identity, even as they are persecuted on the basis of their religion. It is emphasised that the Pakistani state needs to take steps towards ensuring that citizens of the country do not continue to fall victim to cruelty and vigilantism and that a critical mass of Pakistanis has to help arrest the discrimination and persecution against minorities.

Sherry Rehman, President of Jinnah Institute, introduced the report and spoke about the need to reinstate the model of inclusive citizenship envisioned by Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Mariam Faruqi, lead researcher and author of the report, gave a presentation on the findings and key recommendations contained in the study. Advisor to Prime Minister, Paul Bhatti, stated that a collective effort was required by all concerned to uphold values of human dignity, justice and peace and to create rights for minorities. Joseph Francis, Director CLAAS recalled the historical discrimination against the Christian population and pointed towards laws that lead to systemic discrimination. Krishan Sharma, prominent minority rights activist, presented a list of recommendations from his research paper that demanded repeal of those laws. Ali Dayan Hasan of Human Rights Watch commented on how laws relating to minorities in Pakistan were effectively instruments of coercion and questioned the sustainability of liberal pluralism in the country.

URL: http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=50118&Cat=6&dt=6/1/2011

One year after attack on Ahmadis

Opinion EDITORIAL

One year after attack on Ahmadis

By Editorial
Published: May 29, 2011

Local residents and rescue workers take cover during an attack on an Ahmadi worship centre in Lahore’s Garhi Shahu neighborhood on May 28, 2010. PHOTO: FILE

Ahmadis across the country remember the horror that struck Lahore a year ago on May 28th, 2010. At least 88 Ahmadis died that day in coordinated gun and bomb attacks on two places of worship used by the community in Lahore. Ahmadis are, of course, not permitted under special laws directed towards them, to call these places ‘mosques’. We wonder how many other citizens remain concerned about the terrible events that took place that day or the fact that even now no justice has been obtained for those killed by the unknown attackers. There seems to have been no determined effort on the part of authorities in Punjab to track down those responsible or to ensure that such an incident never takes place again.

In the current environment, it is more than likely that this will happen. Ahmadis in our society have been pushed to the very sidelines, and little has been done to protect them from ferocious clerics who dub them as infidels or worse on the basis of their beliefs. As a result of this the four million or so Ahmadis in the country continue to feel threatened and insecure. Dozens are killed each year in attacks based on belief. In 2010, this number stood at 99. They are also persecuted by other means. For instance, discrimination against Ahmadis in matters of employment or even admission to schools is no longer uncommon. In some communities, they have been declared outcasts, banished from marriage functions or other events.

There is only one way to change this. In the first place an example must be set by drawing the Ahmadis back into the mainstream of the population. This can best be done by removing from the statute books the specific laws that give them a diminished status. As part of the same process, it is also vital that those behind the attacks in Lahore be tracked down and brought to book. This is the only way to ensure that an example is set which prevents others from adopting a similar course of action and offers a community that has remained under siege almost since the creation of Pakistan some measure of safety.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2011.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/177737/one...on-ahmadis/

The fate of minorities in Pakistan

READERS FORUM Mon, 03/21/2011 10:04 PM

The fate of minorities in Pakistan [Letter]

This is in reference to “Pakistan, Ahmadiyah and democracy, (the Post, March 16) by Sanaullah, the Ambassador of Pakistan.

Sanaullah is ambassador of Pakistan and it’s his duty to paint a glorified picture. But the reality is too bleak. Living in Pakistan is altogether different from what Sanaullah states.

As far as the economy is concerned, I am not an economist but the figures available on the Internet indicate Pakistan’s GDP Growth rate is now at 2 percent as compared to 6.8 percent in 2007.

Minorities, in fact, are treated as second-grade citizens. Constitutionally, they are free to worship but practically an Ahmadi cannot worship freely; thanks to blasphemy laws. Minorities are not allowed to build places of worship according to their needs.

Hindus are fleeing to India. According to a recent report published in media, more than 50,000 have fled in recent years, including legislator Ram Singh Sodho. The plight of the Ahmadis is even worse.

Let alone building new places of worship, they are not allowed to repair their old and dilapidated ones. They are routinely bullied in their neighborhoods, discriminated in government jobs, and the education and business sectors.

Their headquarters town (Rabwah; forcibly re-named Chenab Nagar by the government under pressure from radical mullahs), which is built on purchased land, is practically under siege by fanatics who have forcibly occupied their land.

They are not allowed to purchase land around the town to expand their housing.

Wake up Indonesia. Religion-related laws are a bad omen of radicalism/Talibanization, which have plagued Pakistan where no place/community and sect is safe. It all started with just a constitutional amendment.

Anwar Ahmad
Karachi

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/21/the-fate...

Home minister rejects US influence on Ahmadiyah issue

NATIONAL Sat, 03/19/2011 10:57 AM

Home minister rejects US influence on Ahmadiyah issue

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian government reserves the right to treat the Ahmadiyah religious sect however it likes, Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi says, following a recent call by US congressmen demanding the Indonesian government revoke all laws that discriminate against Ahmadiyah and religious minorities.

Gamawan was quoted by kompas.com as saying on Saturday that he was not sure whether the letter from the US congressmen even existed.

Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony where he received an honor from Padang State University in West Sumatra, Gamawan admitted that he had not seen the letter sent by 27 congressmen to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono via the Indonesian embassy in Washington on Tuesday.

In the letter dated March 15, the congressmen expressed their “deep concern” over decrees issued by provincial authorities, including East and West Java governors banning Ahmadiyah from practicing its religion publicly.

“We also ask that you immediately revoke the decree that bans Ahmadiyah from conducting religious activities in the country and repeal the country’s long-standing blasphemy law, which is used to prosecute religious minorities who exercise their right to freedom of religion expression,” they said in a statement received by The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The congressmen also referred to the brutal attack on Ahmadiyah members in Cikeusik, Pandeglang, Banten, last month that killed three Ahmadis in the presence of police officers.

They also said that the decree that banned Ahmadiyah had led to escalating violence against religious minorities.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/19/home-minister...