Ahmadis: The lightning rod that attracts the most hatred

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Ahmadis: The lightning rod that attracts the most hatred

October 28, 2011By Zofeen T. Ebrahim | DAWN.COM

Pakistani Ahmadis today live in constant fear and humiliation. So much so, the hatred has permeated into each and every slice of society and the oppressors have become more vocal and aggressive. - Illutration by Faraz Aamer Khan

A month after ten Ahmadi students were expelled from two schools in the village of Dharinwala, in Faisalabad district, all have been put back to school, not in there old ones, but in two schools in Hafizabad, thanks to Khalil Ahmad, father and grandfather of four students who were among those expelled.

“I managed to get all of them enrolled in two schools in the nearby city of Hafizabad,” he said talking to Dawn.com over phone from his village.

But it’s not been easy. Most parents of the expelled children are too poor, so Ahmed volunteered to pay for their admissions, their books and stationery. And that is not all. He, with the help of his two sons, makes sure they drop and pick all of them on a motorbike, doing turns.

In one school, the principal knows he has given admission to Ahmadi students but the educator believes faith should not come in the way of those seeking education. “In the other the principal has not been told,” Ahmed revealed.

Sadly, all during this episode, the government has remained a quiet bystander, as always.

It is not the first time that students have been expelled from an educational institution in Punjab because of their religious affiliations, remarked Bushra Gohar, a parliamentarian belonging to the secular Awami National Party. According to Gohar, her party members had condemned the expulsion of students belonging to the Ahmadiyya community each time on the floor of the house. “However, a protest or condemnation from the parties leading in the Punjab has not been forthcoming,” she said.

For far too long, Pakistani students belonging to this minority community have been facing various forms of discrimination based on their faith.

“This tidal wave against the Ahmadiyya education shows no sign of ebbing,” Saleemuddin, the spokesperson of the Ahmaddiya Jammat, told Dawn.com.

He said after 1984, when the government promulgated the anti Ahmadiyya ordinance, both the government and the clerics have been trying their utmost to punish them in various ways.

“Ahmadi lecturers were posted away to distant locations and some were not allowed to teach. Ahmadi principals and headmasters were replaced. Ahmadi students were deprived admission in professional colleges. They were refused accommodation in attached hostels. They suffered attacks by extremist elements on campuses.”

According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, the Islami Jamiat Talaba, the student wing of the Islami Jamiat has been tasked to cleanse the educational institutions, including universities and professional colleges of Ahmadi students.

Hasan Ahmed, who was among the 23 students who were expelled from Punjab Medical College, in Faisalabad, back in 2008, can never forget the stressful event and how “night after night, for over a month” he kept stressing over the events that turned his settled student life all topsy-turvy.

“I knew it happened to others, so was not completely caught unawares,” Hasan acknowledged. He is at present completing his house job in Lahore, keeping an “ultra busy schedule”.

Eventually all were re-instated in some college or another. “After months of waiting, just before exam, my friend was sent to Bahawalpur while I went off to a distant place of Rahimyar Khan in a college of lower merit,” narrated Hasan.

After a gargantuan effort, he was finally allowed to appear in exams from Lahore and then got admitted to Allama Iqbal Medical College, in Lahore.

“To be in a state of flux was the worst part of this episode specially since exams were approaching and I didn’t know which place I was to appear from,” said Hasan.

He expressed that till the identity of an Ahmadi remains undisclosed “he remains safe”.

But that is sadly not the case if you are living in Pakistan. People are culturally nosy and want to know your cast and sect. “Eventually they end up finding that you are an Ahmadi. Once they know, you can feel a change of attitude and it just takes a mischief maker to exploit others’ feelings against you,” said Hasan.

Till Hina Akram’s faith remained unknown to her teacher in Faislabad’s National Textile University, she was considered a star student. But after it became known she belonged to the Ahmadiyya community, she faced so much faith-based harassment that she had to quit studies.

“I was told to convert to Islam,” said Hina, who was studying in the sixth semester of her BSc.

“I was handed some anti-Ahmadiyya literature to read, offered a refuge in Muslim home. But when she told the teacher she was an Ahmadi by choice he called her an infidel and warned her of severe consequences.

“You will face such a fire of animosity in the campus that not even the vice chancellor will be able to help you,” he threatened her.

True to his word, a hate campaign was initiated and a social boycott began. Out of college, she is desperately trying to go abroad. Her fate remains in balance.

But it’s not just the education aspect where the anti-Ahmadiyya lobby is hitting, said Saleemuddin. Since 1984, some 208 faith-based killings have taken place. The persecution against the community has surged following the May 28, 2010 massacre of 94 members of the community in Lahore.

After the four million Ahmadis were officially declared non-Muslims in 1984 by the state, they cannot call themselves Muslims or go to mosques. They cannot be overheard praising Prophet Mohammad. To add insult to injury, every Pakistani who claims to be a Muslim and owns a passport has declared that he or she considers them to be non-Muslims and their leader an imposter prophet.

Pakistani Ahmadis today live in constant fear and humiliation. So much so, the hatred has permeated into each and every slice of society and the oppressors have become more vocal and aggressive.

“The extremist elements are getting more and more powerful because of Saudi-US influence and the government’s policy of appeasement,” said I.A. Rehman, General Secretary Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

“The Ahmadis are already the worst persecuted minority in our country – and things for them appear to be growing worse as hatred and intolerance spread,” Kamila Hyat, a journalist and a rights activist echoed the same sentiments. “The lack of enforcement of laws to prevent the preaching of hatred adds to the problem,” she added.

Saleemuddin said by allowing the extremist clerics to hold anti-Ahmadiyya rallies and conferences, the government is adding fuel to this venom. “People are openly instigated to kill us in the name of Islam,” he said.

“Violence and the advance of bigotry, prejudice and hate against minorities have never really been met with the resolve needed to remove impunity from the social equation in Pakistan,” Sherry Rehman, a legislator belonging to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, agreed.

Instead, she told Dawn.com what is seen is an “expansion in the space for religious and sectarian apartheids, which has led now to heinous acts of brutality and exclusion of many, particularly Ahmadis.”

She warned: “This is a dangerous trend that conflates national identity with religion.”

Perhaps that is one reason why Pervez Hoodbhoy expresses: “Today, when religion has become so central in matters of the state, they [Ahmadis] do not stand a chance in Pakistan of getting rights, respect, and dignity. The overdose of religion given to young Pakistanis in their schools and homes means that nothing matters more than which religion and sect you belong to. Ahmadis are the lightning rod that attracts more hatred than any other sect.”

For its part rights groups like the Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) say they have “repeatedly” raised the issue of “state tolerated persecution”.

“We are urging authorities to intervene in each case,” said Rehman. “But the situation is getting worse day by day.

Terming it “abhorrent and self defeating” when society allows “for the dehumanization of Ahmadis or Christians or the Shia for that matter, it is effectively cannibalizing itself,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan director of HRW.

“The federal government expresses regret at incidents but has made clear its unwillingness to repeal or amend discriminatory laws,” said HRW spokesperson.

Given the current intolerance, the fate of the new generation of Pakistani Ahmadis looks “quite bleak” said Rehman.

Even Hoodbhoy said: “For years, Ahmadis, Hindus, and Christians have been desperately seeking to flee Pakistan. They would be foolish to want to stay,” said Hoodbhoy.

This fails to dampen young Hasan’s spirits. He thinks the future looks “brighter than ever before”.

“Even if the situation is made worse in Pakistan, this does not mean the future is not bright. It’s a matter of time before we start getting equal rights in this country.

Often when they get together, the young Ahmadis discuss the “bitter realities” they have to face as Pakistanis.

“But we don’t want to leave our country at the juncture that it is at,” said a patriotic Hasan. This is because the contribution of the Ahmadi community towards building of Pakistan has been immense,” he said with conviction.

He said recently their leader urged all Ahmadis of the world to “fast once a week and pray” especially for the prosperity of Pakistan.”

Zofeen T. Ebrahim is a freelance journalist.

©2010 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved
URL: www.dawn.com/2011/10/28/ahmadis...most-hatred.html

Intolerance in the curriculum

	Thu, Oct 13, 2011, Ziqad 14, 1432 A.H
Opinion
Intolerance in the curriculum

Kamila Hyat
Thursday, October 13, 2011

There have been several shocking incidents over the past week or so that go only to highlight the kind of intolerance we are facing in our society and the manner in which this is spreading. Worst of all the spirit of hatred has also seeped into classrooms, and is being used to poison the minds of children.

This process will of course lead to the emergence, even before our watching eyes, of yet another generation persuaded that it is acceptable to discriminate on the basis of beliefs or other factors, or that minority groups are inherently inferior to the majority – deserving no place in mainstream society.

Just a few days ago, 10 Ahmadi children, seven of them girls, were expelled from a school in the Hafizabad area, simply on the basis of their religious identity. The incident took place soon after preachers promoting anti-Ahmadism had visited the town and lashed out with familiar vitriol against a religious group that has been thrust out of the mainstream and then subjected to years of vicious discrimination.

The feeble plea by the principal of the private school, that he did not wish to turn away the children from the school doors but had no choice in the face of threats made by villagers, just goes to show how weak we have become.

No one has answered the question of the distraught father of three of the girls driven away from school who asks how his daughters will now receive an education. Beyond the representatives of the Ahmadi community in Rabwah and some human rights groups, no one has spoken out in their support.

The issue has not been discussed by furious media anchors, even though the Constitution of our land lays down in unequivocal terms that every citizen has a right to education and cannot be denied this under any circumstances.

Such silence is perhaps the most dangerous element of all. The streets and other public places have been left to bigots, such as those who have been on the streets demanding the immediate release of Mumtaz Qadri, the man sentenced to death for the murder of Salmaan Taseer.

Precisely the same silence prevailed after yet another horrendous incident at a school a few weeks ago when an eighth-grade Christian girl was turned out of a POF-run school in the town of Havelian after making a minor spelling mistake in an Urdu paper.

Her teacher interpreted the mistake as an act of blasphemy, publicised the matter – which essentially revolved around one dot in a paragraph about a ‘naat’ – and as clerics staged protests the powerful POF management chose not only to expel the girl, but also to transfer her mother, a nurse at a hospital.

Such incidents have occurred elsewhere too. Ahmadi children have been punished in schools, their faith ridiculed and admission denied simply on the basis of their religious beliefs. Amidst all this, we talk of ‘the silent majority’. But do we really know what people believe and think?

It is true that many, indeed most, do not agree with the rabid views of the extremists. We would like to believe this is true. But popular thinking has been warped over the years by all kinds of factors that began essentially with the deliberate and evil distortions initiated in the early 1980s when our society first began its most serious transformation into an uglier, nastier place.

Discrimination is not based on religious beliefs alone. At an elite Lahore private school, a child from a different ethnic background was mocked and subjected to continuous ridicule for his appearance. It seems that the school management didn’t do very much to check this behaviour or persuade the majority of students who had resorted to uncivilised conduct towards the student to correct their ways.

Racism and bigotry of course need to be stopped using some degree of force within an environment in which the two have spread quite far and grown deep roots. African students based in colleges in Lahore and other cities will no doubt testify to the kind of treatment they face, solely on the basis of their skin colour.

One question that we all need to ask is why the government sits by as a silent spectator while all this happens. It needs to play a far more proactive role. We stand where we are today as a result of carefully thought out behaviours and policies put in place in the past. They succeeded in twisting minds and creating an atmosphere in which hatred, distrust and intolerence could blossom.

The need now is to begin an immediate reversal of this process. In the first place, the relevant authorities need to take notice of the instances of expulsion from schools on the basis of open and undisguised discrimination; this would put in place a good example of what should be done and where right separates from wrong, like oil from water.

There is no time to lose. It is quite obvious that things are growing worse and worse virtually by the day. Our only hope for the future lies in nurturing a generation that is able to think more openly and adopt an approach which is different to the destructive one that has become a normal part of our society today.

The provision that all citizens are equal needs to be turned into reality and not just a clause in a document that fewer and fewer people seem to be very bothered about.

How do we begin this? Schools are a good place to start. Government schools are perhaps the best, given the number of children attending them and the control the administration should have over them. Through curriculums and training for teachers, both children and those entrusted with the delicate task of educating them need to learn to think differently.

This is not an easy task of course. But it has been done elsewhere; Ireland, where Protestants and Catholics were deeply divided in the north for so many years, is one example where attempts towards greater harmony through schools have met with some success.

There are other examples in the world. We need to emulate them and move towards building a place where people are ready to speak out for what is right and refuse to allow extremist elements – who attempt to validate their intolerant ways by citing a distorted version of religion – to dictate how we live and what we do.

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor
Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com

The News International - Copyright @ 2010-20
URL: www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=72295&Cat=9

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Ahmadi students, teacher expelled from Pak schools

South Asia

Ahmadi students, teacher expelled from Pak schools

Last Updated: Saturday, October 08, 2011, 12:53

Islamabad: Ten students, including seven girls, and a woman teacher belonging to the minority Ahmadi sect have been expelled from two schools in Pakistan’s Punjab province amid a hate campaign against the community, a media report said on Saturday.

They were expelled from Chenab Public School and Muslim Public School at Dharanwali in Hafizabad.

A public meeting held recently in Dharanwali had spread hatred against Ahmadis, Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan spokesman Saleemuddin said.

The expulsions came in the aftermath of intolerance that some religious preachers were bent on evoking among local residents, Saleemuddin told ‘The Express Tribune’ daily.

“They went so far as to say that they would never allow for an Ahmadi to be buried in their graveyard, let alone allow an Ahmadi to study in a school with their children,” Saleemuddin alleged.

Soon after the hate speeches, 10 Ahmadi students and the teacher were expelled from the schools.

Khalil Ahmad, whose three daughters were among the expelled students, said: “It is extremely unfortunate that my daughters are being deprived of the most basic and fundamental human right such as education…all because of religious intolerance.”

He said: “I have no alternative to ensure that their education continues.”

He questioned why authorities were not implementing Constitutional provisions that ensure equal rights for all.

“I’ve never seen Christians and students belonging to other religions ever having to deal with such restrictions,” he said.

Muslim Public School principal Yasir Abbas said he had “personally opposed the expulsion on the basis of faith”.

He said: “This is not my decision… the entire village unanimously pressed me to expel all Ahmadis from the school, or else they would forcibly shut the school down.”

The Punjab government’s initiative allowing people to register for schools online makes it mandatory to disclose their religion, including whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim.

“This was never the case previously. It’s very simply a calculated move to subject the Ahmadiyya community to discrimination and deprive them of their right to education,” Saleemuddin alleged.

Ahmadis do not refer to themselves as “non-Muslim”, but that does not stop them from being kept away from educational institutions.

For the first time ever, authorities have introduced a system whereby religion is displayed on roll number slips.

“It’s like they’re making a conscious effort to mentally torture us,” Saleemuddin said.

Dozens of members of the Ahmadi sect have been killed in terror attacks in the past two years.

PTI

© 1996-2011 Zee News Limited, All rights reserved
URL: http://zeenews.india.com/news/south-asia/ahmadi...735559.html

Ahmadis expelled from school

Pakistan

Ahmadis expelled from school

By Shamsul Islam
Published: October 8, 2011

10 students, teacher forced out of schools because of their faith.

FAISALABAD: At least 10 students, including seven girls, and a female teacher were expelled from Chenab Public School and Muslim Public School, Dharanwali area of Hafizabad, for being Ahmadis.

“It is extremely unfortunate that my daughters are being deprived of the most basic and fundamental human right such as education … all because of religious intolerance,” Khalil Ahmad, whose three daughters were expelled, told The Express Tribune. “I have no alternative to ensure that their education continues,” he added.

What about the constitutional provisions which ensure equal rights for all? What about the rule of law that says no discrimination can be made on the basis of faith, race, cast and creed, he questions.

“I’ve never seen Christians and students belonging to other religions ever having to deal with such restrictions,” the distraught father says.

“I personally opposed the expulsion on the basis of faith,” Muslim Public School Principal Yasir Abbas responds when contacted by The Express Tribune.

“This is not my decision … the entire village unanimously pressed me to expel all Ahmadis from the school, or else they would forcibly shut the school down,” he added.

A public meeting held in Dharanwali recently was spreading hatred against Ahmadis, Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan spokesperson Saleemuddin says, adding that expulsion came in the aftermath of the intolerance that some religious preachers were bent on evoking amongst locals in the area.

“They went so far as to say that they would never allow for an Ahmadi to be buried in their graveyard, let alone allow an Ahmadi to study in a school with their children,” Saleemuddin alleges.

Soon after the hate speech, ten Ahmadi students and a teacher were expelled from local schools.

The Punjab government’s initiative allowing people to register for schools online makes it mandatory for one to disclose their religion – whether they are Muslim or Non-Muslim. “This was never the case previously. It’s very simply a calculated move to subject the Ahmadiyya community to discrimination and deprive them of their right to education,” Saleemuddin says.

Ahmadis never refer to themselves as “Non-Muslim”, but that doesn’t keep them from being kept away from educational institutions. Similarly, for the first time ever, they’ve introduced this system where religion is displayed on the Roll Number slips. “It’s like they’re making a conscious effort to mentally torture us,” he says.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2011.

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/269390/ahmadis-expelled-from-school/

PK: State of Human Rights in 2008 - HRCP Report

State of Human Rights in 2008

Introduction

HRCP Report TitleIn the context of human rights, 2008 was a year of opportunities and challenges. After the bleak human rights situation in 2007, it was believed that things could only get better, and in some areas they did as a civilian government emerged after nine years of dictatorship.

Though many of the expectations of a civilian set up were not fulfilled, significant steps were taken.

Pakistan signed or ratified three key UN human rights treaties, though steps for their implementation remained elusive. The new government initially thought of converting all death sentences into life imprisonment, but later on seemed to back paddle and introduced more laws punishable with death.

The elected government distinguished itself from the preceding dictatorship in allowing greater freedom of assembly, expression and movement. A new law on industrial relations freed the trade unions of some of the curbs imposed by the previous legislation.

In other areas, however, things remained as bad as they had earlier been.

Women continued to suffer more than the rest of the population at the hands of Taliban extremists, and on account of inhuman customs and traditions. Even unborn girls continued to pay for quarrels of their male relatives, and were married off to settle disputes.

The lot of victims of ‘enforced disappearances’ did not change. Citizens continued to face harassment by state agents and terrorists alike. At least 67 suicide attacks across Pakistan killed 973 people and injured 2,318. During the same period, at least 289 people were killed in police encounters.

The state’s keenness to hold talks with and give concessions to Taliban engaged in terrorizing civilians, blowing up government schools and butchering civilians and security personnel also remained unchanged. The use of military might remained the preferred option for dealing with militants in Balochistan, who demand greater control over the province’s resources.

Media’s concerns about curbs by the state diminished somewhat with the new government’s emergence, but the state failed to protect media persons against violence and threats from non-state actors.

Working for human rights generally remained a dangerous proposition. The extremist elements’ growth and threats to NGOs, lawyers, government officials and artists, were largely seen as a direct result of the authorities’ policy of appeasing them.

Legislation through the exercise of the President’s power to issue ordinances was not wholly given up by the civilian government. The government was slow in securing the people’s release from grinding poverty and unemployment with due seriousness.

There was a lack of urgency to address the problems of overcrowded prisons even by the country’s top leadership, which had until recently been imprisoned in the same jails.

In many areas, the state of affairs deteriorated considerably in 2008.

While election results of 2008 made it abundantly clear that the militants enjoyed very little support amongst the population, extremist militants’ sway and religious intolerance spread unchecked.

The government seemed to have lost control of vast areas to extremist militants. Its capacity to protect lives against terrorist attacks or other criminal acts suffered severe erosion in many areas. Government response to terrorism mostly comprised meaningless gestures of issuing alerts after suicide bombing, or announcing the number of suicide bombers believed to have entered various cities, speculating whether an explosion was a suicide bombing or not, and advising the harried citizens to look after themselves.

All evidence indicated that the prevailing militancy and large-scale internal displacement would be a long-term problem, but measures to deal with the challenges were largely inadequate or inappropriate. It is a measure of their desperation and lack of any semblance of security that hundreds of internally displaced families from Pakistan’s tribal areas fled to Afghanistan in search of safety.

The society’s descent into brutalisation was manifested in shocking incidents of mobs getting hold of suspected robbers and burning them alive.

Towards the end of 2008, the main political parties were on the verge of an encore of confrontational politics of the 1990s. The government seemed incapable of achieving consensus on crucial issues or imaginative solutions to the problems facing the country.

Lack of interest by the government in effectively addressing major human rights issues and the growing threat of extremism from non-state actors dampened hopes of 2009 being a better year in terms of human rights.

-- Najam U Din

Saira Ansari

---

Highlights

Freedom of thought, conscience and religion

• Members of religious minorities were targeted because of their faith. At least three Ahmadis were killed in September after a popular television channel declared that killing Ahmadis was permissible under Islamic norms.
• In Kurram tribal agency, clashes between members of Sunni and Shia sects led to over 1,000 deaths.
  

Administration of justice

Cases on religious grounds

The most shocking incident in the category of cases involving allegations of offences against religion concerned Jagdish Kumar, a Hindu Pakistani, who was lynched in a factory in Korangi, the industrial area of Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi.

Some of the workers at the factory alleged that the 22-year-old Jagdish had made some blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet (PBUH). A large mob dragged him to a room on the factory premises and bludgeoned him to death. The police did arrive while he was alive but was unable, or unwilling, to intervene.

Another version of the cause of murder was some young workers’ jealousy at Jagdish’s intimacy with a female fellow-worker belonging to a different faith.

At least two cases of offences against religion were decided during the year, both in Punjab.

Shafique, belonging to Sialkot, was awarded death penalty and life imprisonment, by the trial court. He was accused of defiling the Holy Quran and passing derogatory remarks against the Prophet (PBUH) and was tried under sections 295-C and 295-B of the PPC. The case was registered in 2006.

In the other case, Mumtaz Husain of Hafizabad was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.

Against Ahmedis

Two Ahmedis, Rana Khalil and Rashid Iqbal, both belonging to Kunri, Sindh, and three Ahmedis from Nankana Sahib in Punjab, were charged under section 295-C in new cases.

The 11 other new cases — 9 in Punjab, 2 in Sindh — against the Ahmedis were: (details undecipherable or missing from report).

Azad Kashmir
Three cases against the Ahmedis were instituted in Azad Kashmir. These were: (details undecipherable or missing from report).

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)

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan is guided by international human rights law, particularly while monitoring the human rights situation under freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Domestic legislation departs and at times is ambiguous regarding the principles of human rights on freedom of religion, belief and conscience.

The standard-setting norm on freedom of religion or belief was initially included in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. The Declaration recognised without exception the freedom of thought and conscience in matters of religion or belief. Freedom to change one’s religion or belief and the freedom to manifest a religion or belief in teaching and in practice was recognised as a right.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966, expanded on this right but a limitation provision was also added to make manifestation of these rights subject to laws that are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. Article 20 of the ICCPR obliges governments to prohibit by law, “any advocacy or national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence”.

The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, 1981, is the most important global instrument regarding the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Although not binding, the 1981 Declaration implies an expectation of observance and has laid a solid ground for interpreting and evolving this right into a binding legal instrument of the United Nations in the future.

The 1981 Declaration follows the pattern of previous international norms on the subject by drawing a distinction between basic rights in the inner form – thought, conscience and belief – and the external manifestation of these e.g. worship, observance, practice and teaching. Only external manifestations can be limited.

Other UN instruments that also include provision for freedom of thought, conscience and religion are the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Geneva Conventions, CEDAW and the CRC.

Freedom of thought, conscience and religion is partially recognised by the legal system of Pakistan. Article 20 of the Constitution guarantees right to profess, practise and propagate religion and grants every religious denomination and every sect the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions. These rights can be limited by law and “subject” to public order and morality. Article 21 ensures that no person shall be compelled to pay any special tax the proceeds of which may be spent on the propagation or maintenance of any religion other than his/her own. Article 22 guarantees that no person attending any educational institution shall be required to receive religious instructions, or take part in any religious ceremony, or attend religious worship, if such instructions, ceremony or worship relates to a religion other than his/her own. Religious institutions are prohibited from discriminating against any community in granting exemption or concession in relation to taxation. Unless so provided by law, no religious community or denomination can be prevented from providing religious instruction for pupils of that community or denomination in any educational institution maintained wholly by that community or denomination. The Constitution prohibits denial of admission to any citizen in educational institutions receiving aid from public revenues on the basis of race, religion, caste or place of birth.

In 1988, no case law is reported under these Articles of the Constitution. Since 2005, a number of constitutional petitions were filed challenging building of a church, banning books on Christianity and appointment of a non-Muslim as judge to superior courts. The courts upheld the spirit of the Constitution and refused interference on the principle of non-discrimination. The Sindh High Court dismissed the plea that a non-Muslim could not be appointed as a judge as s/he may be required to interpret Sharia law. The courts emphasised that discrimination based on religion cannot be promoted. However, in the case of religious practices of Ahmadis the courts followed a contrary principle. The law prohibiting Ahmadis from using exclusive descriptions and titles like mosque or Azan while manifesting their religion was upheld on the principle that Ahmadis were obliged to honour the Constitution, which declared Ahmadis as non-Muslims.[1] From the constitutional declaration of defining Ahmadis as such it follows that all Muslim religious symbols are exclusive to them alone.

The Constitution of Pakistan defines citizens as “Muslims” or “Non-Muslims”. A Muslim is defined as a person who believes in the unity and oneness of God, in the finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him), and does not recognise as a prophet or religious reformer any person who claimed or claims to be a prophet after Muhammad (peace be upon him). Non-Muslims are those who are not Muslims and include Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, and Ahmadis. The Constitution, therefore, recognises all religions but decides the faith of any group that may believe itself to be Muslims.

Article 2 of the Constitution declares Islam as the State religion. The United Nations Special Rapporteurs on freedom of religion or belief as well as the UN Human Rights Committee have pointed out that an official or State religion in itself is not apposed to human rights. It could simply be symbolic because of historical reasons but emphasised that it must not be exploited at the expense of the rights of minorities. They have also cautioned that while in its Constitution a state may simply profess its adherence to a particular faith, yet some may see the mere profession of that faith as a form of discrimination against other ethnic or religious minorities. They have noted that it often becomes inevitable that the established religion or ideology guides the vision of society to the exclusion of others. The State religion of Pakistan is a driving force making Islam the preferred religion through laws and practices. For example Article 2(a) of the Constitution recognises principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice as “enunciated by Islam”. It guarantees “adequate provisions” for the minorities to freely profess and practice their religions and develop their cultures.

A Federal Shariat Court hears appeals of certain convictions under criminal law and can declare any law repugnant to the injunctions of Islam. All eight judges of the court must be Muslims.

……
The Pakistan Penal Code prescribes penal sanctions for arousing communal unrest based on the premise of protecting public order.[2] Imprisonment for life is prescribed for “wilfully” defiling, damaging or desecrating a copy of the holy Quran. The death penalty is prescribed for anyone who “by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace by upon him). HRCP has documented several cases and found that there is a clear trend of exploiting these provisions by religious zealots.

There are penal sanctions for Ahmadis for misusing religious “epithets” reserved for Muslims. They are prohibited from describing or copying their call to prayer as “azan” or their place of worship as a “mosque”.

HRCP remains concerned at the high level of religious persecution by religious zealots and rising threats as well as violence perpetrated by religious militant groups. The authorities, by and large, remain unconcerned and law enforcement staff is most reluctant to take any action against religious groups or militants. While women and religious minorities bear the worst brunt of religious extremist groups, men and Muslims are not spared either. Artists, musicians and those affiliated with performing arts are at risk in all parts of the country but particularly vulnerable in the province of NWFP. Sectarian violence and victimisation under the blasphemy law continues. The Ahmadi community was targeted throughout but they saw worse times after a popular television station, in a talk show, declared that killing them was permissible under Islamic norms. This was followed by the killing of three Ahmadis in Sindh in the month of September. [See the chapter ‘Administration of Justice’]

……
An editorial comment in a daily referred to some of the causes of minority persecution. It mentioned instances of discrimination, such as the kidnapping of Christians, including two priests while they were offering prayers in Peshawar, suspension of around two dozen Ahmadi students from Punjab Medical College, and the dire plight of scheduled caste Hindus in Sindh. The writer said that the blame rested on several parties: liberal and secular politicians who, in order to appease the religious right in Pakistan, did not lift a finger to mainstream the minorities; elite minority leaders, co-opted time and again by both military and civilian rulers, who compromised the rights of the minority community which was largely poor and disadvantaged; and those who had joined the rule of former president Ziaul Haq, who was responsible for pushing the minorities to the margins by introducing discriminatory legislation and by promoting a curriculum which was demeaning for the minorities. (NE, Jun 27)

Reserved seats for minorities in parliament

The system of reserved seats for minorities and women introduced by President Musharraf in 2002 failed to fulfil the required objective of giving a political voice to minorities. The minorities’ representatives in the assemblies usually followed the line of the party that got them elected and not the interest of their communities.

In early February, the World Minorities’Alliance Convener, Mr. J. Salik, said the current system did not allow any minority person to contest elections independently on the minorities’ seat. He had challenged that process in the Supreme Court in 2002 but to date no hearing had been set. (N, Feb 6) A minority representative said: “When the Hasba Bill was approved in the NWFP, two persons elected by the MMA on reserved seats also voted for it. This instance showed that representatives of religious minorities elected on reserved seats were not free to pursue private agendas”. (DT, Feb 24)

Freedom of Religion

Ahmadis

As in previous years, the spread of hatred against the Ahmadis continued. At least six Ahmadis were murdered because of their faith during 2008.

An anchorperson of a popular TV channel held a prime-hour discussion commemorating the 1974 amendment to the Constitution declaring Ahmadis as “not Muslims”. The programme ended with a verdict by a participating mufti, of an extremist school, that the Ahmadis deserved to be murdered for deviating from the view of the finality of the prophethood of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Neither the TV channel nor the anchorperson was chastised by the government for the virulent broadcast. Following the TV discussion, three Ahmadis were shot dead in early September – Dr. Abdul Mannan Siddiqui in Mirpurkhas, Seth Yusuf, a Nawabshah trader, and Sheikh Saeed at his pharmacy in Karachi. (D, Sep 21)

In Lahore in late May the International Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Movement (IKNM) announced a moot to be held at the Aiwan-e-Iqbal. IKMN Ameer MPA Maulana Ilyas Chinoti added the moot would mark a hundred years of successfully countering Qadiyaniat. (N, May 23)

In Faisalabad in early June, a mob of 300 college students barged into the rooms of Ahmadi students, beat them up and threw their belongings out of their rooms. The boarders also stole valuables from the Ahmadi students. The Punjab Medical College (PMC) through a notification rusticated 23 Ahmadi students on the report of the disciplinary committee. It was alleged that they were preaching and distributing Ahmadi literature. (DT, Sep 9) The students suffered harassment and interruption in their studies for months before they were allowed to resume their studies. In Shabqadar, Charsadda district, local clerics refused to lead the funeral prayers for a man believed to be an Ahmadi. The local clerics issued a fatwa (decree) that the deceased had become an Ahmadi and, therefore, no one would lead his funeral prayers. (DT, Sep 23)

Recommendations

1. The blasphemy law was promulgated in 1985 and in 1990 the punishment under this law, which sought to penalise irreverence towards the Holy Quran and insulting the Holy Prophet (PBUH), was life imprisonment. In 1992, the government introduced death penalty for a person guilty of blasphemy. Immediate abolition of ‘blasphemy’ laws is needed as these provisions are often used against non-Muslims as well as Muslims to settle personal scores.
2. School curriculum has to be sensitised toward non-Muslim Pakistanis so that children feel safe, secure and equal.
3. The Ahmadis have been denied the benefit of the joint electorate system which was revived in 2002. The discrimination should be ended.
4. The Commission on Minorities should be made functional by reinforcing its independent status and providing it with the necessary resources, human as well as financial.
   

Freedom of assembly

Every citizen shall have the right to assemble peacefully and without arms, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of public order.

Constitution of Pakistan

Article 16

Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 20(1)Freedom of Assembly

Ban on public gatherings

……
On May 26, the district authorities in Jhang imposed a ban on the centenary celebrations of Jamaat-e-Ahmadia in Rabwah after Muslim religious organisations and clerics pushed the authorities to do so.

Political participation

The state shall encourage local government institutions composed of elected representatives of the areas concerned and within such institutions special representation will be given to peasants, workers and women.

Constitution of Pakistan

Article 32

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

Challenges for women and minorities

……
The ECP compiled a separate electoral roll just for Ahmadis, distinguishing them from the list of all other eligible voters in the country. In addition to outright religious discrimination, a separate list for Ahmadis completely disregarded the spirit of the joint electorate, the Constitution of Pakistan, and the guarantee of international human rights. As had happened in previous elections, the Ahmadis chose not to participate in the elections.
……

Appendix - II
HRCP stands

Minorities / freedom of belief and religion

July 2: HRCP has expressed its serious concern at the authorities’ failure to redress the grievance of the unlawfully expelled Ahmadi students of the Punjab Medical College, Faisalabad, and urged firm action against the trouble-makers. The rustication of 23 Ahmadi students early last month on the ground of their belief was apparently a case of extraordinary discrimination. HRCP therefore requested a senior member of its governing body to probe the matter. This inquiry shows that while rusticating the unfortunate students the college administration did not follow the rules prescribed for this extreme action; that the committee of teachers set up to examine the victims after the event included teachers who were in the body that had taken the decision to rusticate them; and that the few students who appeared before the investigating committee were unduly harassed and intimidated. There were also indications that some members of the faculty colluded with the Ahmadi-baiting trouble-makers. HRCP is therefore seriously apprehensive of justice being denied to the unlawfully expelled students. It calls upon the provincial and federal governments both to intervene immediately to protect the wronged students and deal firmly with hate-preachers and disrupters of peace because much more than the career of Ahmadi students is at stake.

Footnotes

1. Article 260 (3) defines a “Muslim” and a “Non-Muslim”. A “Non-Muslim” is defined as a person who is not a Muslim and includes a “person belonging to the Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Budhist or Parsi community, a person of Qadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves “Ahmadis” or by any other name), or a Bahai and a person belonging to any of the scheduled castes”.
2. Article 295 and 295-A
   

HRCP Website : http://www.hrcp-web.org/

Ahmadis held without any evidence of blasphemy

--- HRCP

Press Releases

Ahmadis held without any evidence of blasphemy

Press Release, February 12, 2009

LAHORE: Five Ahmadis detained on charges of blasphemy in Layyah district have been held without virtually any proof or witnesses, the Human Rights Commission (HRCP) said on Thursday.

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 organizations 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 must ensure that the Ahmadiyya community in the village is not harassed or ostracized. The Commission has also asked the government to take prompt measures to rule out misuse of the blasphemy law.

The detailed fact-finding report can be accessed at the HRCP website: http://www.hrcp-web.org/

Asma Jahangir
Chairperson

URL: www.hrcp-web.org/print.cfm?proId=685

Monthly Newsreport - Ahmadiyya Persecution in Pakistan - October, 2008

Extensive and unending evil of the Ahmadi-specific laws
Eight more Ahmadis arrested in Rabwah in a dubious case

Rabwah: It was reported last month that 10 Ahmadi traders had been booked with FIR 443/08 of September 5, 2008 under Ahmadi-specific clauses PPC 298-B and 298-C. The FIR accused them of hurting the sentiments of Muslims using Arabic words like ‘Khilafat خلافت’ and ‘Imam امام’ etc in a Ramadan calendar and claiming unjustifiably these words belonged exclusively to Muslims. The accused face three years’ imprisonment under this spurious accusation. It is indeed astonishing that the state of Pakistan and the province of Punjab should be wasting their scarce police and judicial resources pursing such ridiculous accusations. This month among the many other incidents of terrorism one was the death of 113 in a suicide attack in Orakzai Agency on October 11, while in another incident 15 troops were killed in Swat by militants. In Rabwah, at the demand of the extremists, the authorities booked another 8 Ahmadis under the same FIR No. 443/08. It seems the government has very much lost its way.

Earlier, the first 8 detainees were behind bars as their temporary ‘bail before arrest’ had been cancelled. A judge granted their plea for ‘bail after arrest’ on October 28, 2008, and the authorities released them.

Subsequent to the arrest of those accused, the police investigated eight more individuals. They hurried to avail the ‘bail before arrest’ provision. However, they had to present themselves a few days later for confirmation of the bail. The judge, for reasons known only to him, decided to reject the confirmation. The police arrested them immediately and locked them up. Their names are listed below:

1. Mr. Naseeb Ahmad Anwar; a brick-kiln owner
2. Mr. Danial Ahmad; a 14 years old
3. Mr. Muhammad Abdulla Khan; proprietor of an electric store
4. Mr. Asif Jamil; movie maker
5. Mr. Akbar Latif; pharmacist
6. Mr.Maqbul Ahmad Gondal of Gondal Tent Service
7. Mr. Abdul Majeed of Zeeshan Shopping Centre
8. Mr. Atiqur Rehman; a property dealer.
   

These peaceful citizens are now behind bars. Only a few days earlier, the senior minister of their province, Raja Riaz said: Minorities have equal rights (The News; October 13, 2008). The weekly Time apparently knows the situation here better than the minister. It commented: It takes a big bomb to make a point in Pakistan these days. (Time; October 6, 2008)

A deadly attack on yet another Ahmadi district Amir

Haripur, NWFP; October 29, 2008: Subsequent to the assassination of two Ahmadi presidents of district communities in Sindh in September, another was attacked, this time in NWFP. He is also a doctor, like Dr Siddiqui of Mirpur Khas.

A man named Abbas came to Dr Muhammad Aslam’s clinic posing as a patient. There he attacked the doctor with a dagger, and shouted: Tu Qadiani hai; tu Qadiani hai (You are a Qadiani; you are a Qadiani). He was able to stab his victim four times before he could be stopped. The doctor was wounded twice in the head, and once each in the neck and hand. When the doctor’s assistants tried to grab the attacker, he threatened them to keep clear shouting that he was a suicide bomber. Nevertheless, they caught hold of him and brought him under control.

Dr Aslam was taken to a nearby hospital, where a surgeon attended to him. He has apparently survived the attack, although he will take time to recover fully.

The assailant is under 20. He told the police that he is a resident of Bajida, District Haripur.

Thankfully the assailant has been caught, perhaps now the police should be able to find out who he was supported by. It might lead to a group which prompts and organizes the murder of selected Ahmadis. The local daily Mohasib of October 30, 2008 commented: “Startling disclosures are expected.”

Yet another anti-Ahmadiyya conference permitted and held in Rabwah

Rabwah: October 30 and 31, 2008: With the permission of the authorities the mullas converged on Rabwah from all over Pakistan to hold a sectarian anti-Ahmadiyya conference here. Earlier this year major open-air conferences were held by clerics at Rabwah in March and September. There is no apparent reason for them to come all the way to Rabwah except provocation. It costs them money to transport their audience from other towns, but perhaps money is no problem, as the clerics manage to get donations from major foreign donors. Maulana Fazlur Rahman, the self-appointed spokesman for the Taliban is a regular advocate and participant of this annual event. The conference produced little except hatred, provocation, security concern, social unrest and politics, both national and international. The vernacular press spared plenty of space to reproduce the press-release of the conference organizers. The daily Jang, Lahore of November 1, 2008 reported the following excerpts from the speeches, inter alia:

• The US aims at liquidating the Mujahideen, in the name of terror.
• The US is using the language similar to the Soviets in Afghanistan. If the US gets a foothold there, it will affect the whole region.
• 5000 key-posts in the country are occupied by Qadianis, Christians and Jews.
• If the current policies continue, the NWFP will not remain in step with Pakistan.
• Maulana Abdul Aziz (of Lal Masjid, Islamabad) should be set free forthwith; the Jamia Hafsa should be rebuilt, and all police cases against the Tulaba of Jamia Faridia should be withdrawn.
• All political leaders including President Zardari should bring back their wealth from foreign banks to put an end to the financial crisis.
• The religion-column should be added to the national identity card. Non-Muslims should be given identity cards of a colour different than that for Muslims.
• Admission forms for all educational institutions should have affirmation regarding Safeguarding the End of Prophethood.
• Pakistanis have to fight against the licentious culture of the West. etc, etc.
  

Among those who attended and addressed the conference, the following are worthy of mention:

• Maulvi Fazlur Rahman (the JUI chief)
• Liaquat Baloch (a heavyweight of JI)
• Mufti Saeed Ahmad Jalalpuri (a rabid mullah from Karachi)
• Mulla Alam Tariq (a brother of mulla Azam Tariq of the banned Lashkar Jhangvi)
• Mulla Ahmad Mian Hamaadi (a full-time sectarian activist from Sindh)
• Mulla Allah Wasaya [self-styled Shaheen (a bird of prey) Khatme Nabuwwat]
• Mulla Aziz-ur-Rehman Jalandhry (excels in bad-mouthing others)
  

The participants were led by the stage to shout slogans, inter alia:

• Mirzaiat – Murdah bad (Death to Ahmadiyyat)
• Hang the blasphemers
• Long live the Crown and Throne of Prophecy
  

(It is interesting that the participants wished long life to the crown and throne of Prophecy in a conference that was called in the name of safeguarding (Tahaffuz) the End of Prophecy.)

The speakers sprang a surprise and came up with a fresh demand this time, in that:

• There are six hundred Pakistani Qadianis that are enrolled in the Israeli Army; their aim is to facilitate the enemy state’s attack on Pakistan.
• Qadianis indulge in despicable efforts to administer Chenab Nagar (Rabwah) on the lines of Israel.
• Rejection of Qadianiat (Radde Qadianiat ???? ????????) should be made a part of the state schools syllabus.
  

The following is also noteworthy:

• Maulvi Alam Tariq, the brother of Azam Tariq of the banned Lashkar Jhangvi arrived at the site at 3:00 A.M. and left immediately after speaking to the audience.
• Maulvi Fazlur Rahman joined the conference after the Friday congregation. He arrived in style in a convoy of six vehicles. In his speech he told a deliberate lie that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani had declared himself to be planted by the English. He also fabricated the charge that the attacks on Islamic countries (Aalam-e-Islam) were a Qadiani conspiracy. The release of Dr Abdul Qadeer was also demanded in the conference.

The local Ahmadiyya Community took adequate security precautions to protect itself against any incursion by these unwelcome visitors. Women were asked to stay indoors during these two days. Girl students were told to not to go to school. The authorities posted extra police personnel to discourage the mulla from creating any disorder.

Why immunity to politicians in the garb of religion?

Sargodha; October 23, 2008: Mullas continue to claim immunity from legal action and to avail unbridled freedom of speech, under the protective shade of religion. We have previously produced evidence in these reports that these clerics promote their politics in the name of Khatme Nabuwwat. Recently the Aalami Majlis Tahaffuz Khatme Nabuwwat held an open-air conference at Sargodha, and the daily Jang, Lahore reported its proceedings on 24 October 2008 under three column headlines that are translated below to prove this point:

Snap ties with US and formulate policies in accord with the People’s wishes. — Khatme Nabuwwat conference
Negotiations should be held and (military) operation should be halted; Qadianis’ activities should be monitored in Kahuta and other national institutions
Zahid ur Rashidi, Maulana Allah Wasaya, Muhammad Ahmad Luddhianwi, Mufti Abdul Moeed and Abdul Majeed Shah’s address
Load-shedding, inflation and unemployment should be ended; those who threaten Pakistan’s security should be exposed. — Resolution

It is reasonable to suggest that if the mulla wants to play politics at a national and international level, the relevant rules, should apply to him as well, and he should not be treated as “Ulama Karam”.

According to the daily Jang, among the clerics who participated were Abdullah Shah Mazhar, Akram Toofani, Sahibzada Aziz Ahmad, Mufti Tahir Masud, Muhammad Ramazan and Qari Abdul Waheed. Haji Aslam, Chaudhry Hamid Hameed and Abdur Razzaq Dhillon also addressed the crowd.

Freedom of religion, assembly and speech to Ahmadis!

Rabwah: In the month of October 2008 the Nazir Amur Aama (Director Public Affairs) of the Ahmadiyya Central Office wrote a letter to the authorities concerned on the issue of the permission granted to the Anti-Ahmadiyya Khatme Nabuwwat mullas to hold another open-air conference at Rabwah and the denial of the same permission to Ahmadis in their own town. This self-explanatory letter, written in Urdu, is translated below:

Sir,

According to the press reports a Khatme Nabuwwat Conference is scheduled at Rabwah by the Aalami Majlis Tahaffuz Khatme Nabuwwat on October 30 and 31, 2008. As usual, the speakers will make anti-Ahmadiyya provocative speeches and issue statements there. Rabwah is a unique town in that the Government of the Punjab renamed it Nawan Qadian against the wishes of the local population, only to please a few outsiders. After the Notification, the government was conveyed the concern that the revised imposed name of ‘Nawan Qadian’ would perhaps be acceptable to the residents; thus the objective of hurting their sentiments would not be adequately achieved. So they issued a fresh official notification that further changed the name of the town to Chenab Nagar. In fact there are numerous such hurtful impositions on Ahmadis here. I propose now to highlight only one of these.

For the last quarter of a century, residents of this town have been deprived of their fundamental right of assembly. Ahmadis established this town on a barren piece of purchased land. At present more than 50,000 Ahmadis live here. Earlier, Ahmadis would assemble here five times every year and participate in moral and spiritual improvement seminars and programs. The government apparently did not approve of this peaceful pursuit, so it decided to forbid them this basic human right through executive orders. Now, every year Ahmadis request to hold their annual conference, and the authorities fail to even acknowledge the receipt of the letter. Please consider the discrimination practiced in case of others.

A few others, non-Ahmadis, who have been planted in Rabwah, enjoy complete freedom to hold conferences here and invite the speakers from outside. They undertake slander and provocation against the most respected elders of Ahmadis who form 95% of the town’s population. The organizers and speakers at these conferences violate official rules and directions, and are not held accountable for them. The participants then form processions, provoke the local population and precipitate a threat to law and order. Consequently the government tells Ahmadis to remain at home, but does not order the provocateurs to disperse.

These are the facts. The police reports and agencies’ records support all this. In view of such unfair treatment one must wonder what has happened to the basic right of assembly and why it is denied to Ahmadis. Also:

• If this basic human right is allowed by the Constitution of Pakistan, why is it denied in this town?
• Is this not blatant discrimination based on faith?
  

In the light of these questions, would it not be fair to permit Ahmadis to hold their peaceful assemblies in Rabwah, and forbid those conferences that promote only hatred and intolerance, especially when the government claims to be liberal, enlightened and democratic?

Yours sincerely,

Saleemuddin
Nazir Umur Aama, Chenab Nagar (Rabwah)

Hunting down Ahmadis in educational institutions

A story under the title above was included in the monthly News Report for August 2008. Part of it is reproduced here:

It is a matter of great concern that the authorities have perhaps already undertaken this ugly exercise. In an article by Raja Asrar Ahmad Abbasi, titled “There is need for correct data regarding Ahmadis” in the Daily Ausaf, Lahore of August 7, 2008, he mentioned: “One is encouraged by a recent report that data regarding Mirzai male and female students of schools and colleges is being collected. But it is surprising that this is being done through local police through letters and replies…”
Strange are the ways of this state.

It is now confirmed that the authorities did indulge in this unbecoming, unnecessary and discriminatory exercise. This reminds one of Nazi Germany!

Malicious and injurious accusation

Nankana Sahib: Here is a typical case that shows how far some elements of society go to harm Ahmadis in the name of religion and Khatme Nabuwwat. It says little on the moral and intellectual health of society in Pakistan.

Three months ago activists of the Khatme Nabuwwat organization put up defamatory posters on a wall in Nankana Sadar. Someone tore off one of these and the group rushed to the police to lodge a complaint against 16 Ahmadis for Blasphemy. The police registered the case, raided Ahmadi homes and detained individuals. One of those arrested was an elderly gentleman, Dr Asghar Abdul Rahman. They held him as the prime suspect and interrogated him vigorously for days. Both the magistrate and the judge refused his plea for bail and he remained in a lock-up for weeks. Eventually, by 10th September 2008, the investigation was completed, and the police concluded that the doctor was not the one who tore down the poster.

On September 11 Muhammad Malik, the complainant in the above case was on his way back from the mosque after the night prayers (Isha) when two men on a motor-cycle overtook him, and shot him dead.

Boota, the father of Malik, in consultation with his advisors, approached the police and had an FIR registered in which he named two Ahmadis as the murderers and two of their non-Ahmadi friends as the helpers in the attack. He mentioned in the complaint that Ahmadis killed his son because he was the complainant in the Blasphemy case, and as such instrumental in the arrest of Dr Asghar. Mr. Tahir Nadeem, one of the Ahmadi accused is a son of Dr Asghar while Mr. Rashid the other accused is the doctor’s nephew. Now, rather than releasing Dr Asghar whom they had found innocent of the alleged blasphemy, they arrested his son and nephew. They also arrested a third accused, while a fourth one went into hiding for fear of the police. But this was not the end of the matter.

Subsequent to the incident and the police raids, Ahmadis were harassed and feared unbearable hardships, so they fled from the village. Their women also went away to a nearby village; the police held them the next day. However, they released them when their men presented themselves to the police. On Friday, hundreds of protesters, spurred and agitated by the mulla took to the street and threatened to set fire to Ahmadis’ homes. The police were good enough to dissuade them. They even transported some Ahmadi women to safety in another village Chak Ahatah Langah. The mulla had created serious communal tension.

Ahmadis told the police that the complainant, his advisors and the mullas had all made false accusations against Ahmadis. Someone else had assassinated Malik for their own reasons and to settle a personal score, and to do so he had availed of the prevailing sectarian dispute and the so-called Blasphemy case. Such treachery is well-known to Punjabi villagers and mullas, and the police know it.

The senior leadership of the Khatme Nabuwwat with the help of the vernacular press propagated the fabrication that Ahmadis had killed a Khatme Nabuwwat activist. For example, the daily Ausaf, Lahore of September 13, 2008 reported the fabrication under a three column headline, as below:

Nankana: Qadianis assassinated a youth who had reported to the police their Blasphemy
Qadiani Dr Asghar had defiled the good name of the Holy Prophet, for which he was arrested and sent to prison.
Muhammad Malik was on his way home after Taravih prayers when the doctor’s men shot at him. The leaders of the Khatme Nabuwwat arrived at the scene.

The paper named mulla Abdul Hameed Rehmani, Mehr Aslam Nasir, Nazim Shaukat Ali Shahid, Liaquat Ali Kachhi, Chaudhry Arshad, Shaheen Parwaz, Akram Naz, Muhammad Sarwar as the Khatme Nabuwwat leaders who arrived at the scene (and provided advice to Boota to have the FIR registered with the police, which he did).

The information department of the Khatme Nabuwwat Movement spared no effort to make maximum gain out of the murder. They approached column-writers and pseudo intellectuals of the vernacular press to write op-eds which they did without making any inquiry into the incident. In fact, had any of the innocent accused been hanged, these divines and writers would have been guilty of complicity to murder.

The police kept the three detainees in a police station at Warburton. They tortured the two Ahmadis to draw confessions from them. However, the police also extended their inquiry and investigated other possibilities. Approximately four weeks later, they tracked the actual assassins and arrested one of them, Habib who admitted having committed the crime. At this, the police released all the three detainees and declared them innocent.

It is relevant to mention here that the complainant Boota, had it recorded in the FIR that “Nadeem son of Asghar Ali was armed with a 12-bore gun” while “Rashid son of Sarwar was armed with a pistol” – also “the accused Nadeem hurled the challenge ‘teach Muhammad Malik a lesson for getting the police case registered against us, at which… the accused Nadeem also fired his 12 bore gun and hit Muhammad Malik in the face, and he fell down wounded.” All fabrications; all lies.

The entire Ahmadiyya Community of the village Chak 4, Bhagwanpura has suffered greatly during the last four months through these two fabricated accusations. The mulla has been instrumental not only in harassing Ahmadis, but also causing a murder, avoidable litigation, sorrow for the family of the deceased, social unrest and a breakdown in communal peace in an otherwise peaceful and harmonious rural community. Allama Iqbal was not off the mark when he concluded: Deen-e-mulla fi sabilillah fasad (The creed of the mulla is to create disorder and mischief in the name of God). The case throws a flood of light on a similar case in Chak Sikandar, where three Ahmadis have been sentenced to death under similar circumstances, and are in the sixth year of their incarceration awaiting a hearing of their appeal in the Lahore High Court. The police, after repeated investigations had found them innocent, but the judicial system has still pushed them with death sentences.

Rabwah: deprived of drinking water

Rabwah; October 2008: The Daily Express of October 16, 2008 reported the following:

Water not available. Residents of Chenab Nagar start migration.

Worshippers turn to Tayamum (ablution with dust); forewarn of protest (gherao). Bursting of the main pipe is the cause –Town Council

Chenab Nagar: (correspondent). Residents of Chenab Nagar have moved from the affected areas on account of non-availability of water. The problem has been persisting for the last ten days, and people now have to buy (expensive) bottled mineral water. It is a pity that on account of non-availability of water in the mosques, worshippers have to use dust to simulate ablution. The Town Council is insensitive to their plight in that they have not taken due notice of this for the last ten days. According to the Town officials, the main supply line burst. Its repair was undertaken, but it burst again due to water pressure. The residents, however, state that the Council gave the repair task to unskilled laborers rather than qualified technicians, so the repairs did not last even one day. The affected residents have warned that they will have no option but to protest strongly (gherao of the offices) for which the entire responsibility will be that of the TMA (Tehsil Municipal Administration) Chiniot.

'Moral education' in a school at Sialkot!

Sialkot: Naqsh Lasani High School (registered with Gujranwala Board) claims to hold ‘First position in Sialkot.’ It published its ‘syllabus for Morality’ for the First Term in September 2007. Its copy became available recently. Excerpts from its Question-Answer section are translated below:

Q. What wine did Mirza Qadiani drink?
A. Tonic Wine of E Plomer.
Q. How did Mirza Qadiani button up his shirt?
A. He would button up the upper button in the lower hole and the lower button in the
upper hole.
Q. Where did Mirza Qadiani die?
A. In a latrine.

Well, this is the kind of ‘morality’ that is being taught to teen-age student at a school that claims to be the best in Sialkot and is registered officially with the state Board.

The Ahmadiyya headquarters have informed the authorities of this outrage. Action is still awaited.

Anti-Ahmadiyya activism gains momentum

Lahore: The daily Pakistan, Lahore of October 14, 2008 published a news item under a three-column headline, reporting the schedule of a multi-party anti-Ahmadiyya planning meeting at Lahore on October 19, 2008. The daily’s headlines:

Qadianis’ heightened activities: meeting of religious parties called in October.
The meeting will deliberate upon the lobbying of higher circles and the efforts to sabotage hundred years’ Shariah, constitutional and legal achievements in the field of End of Prophethood.
Problems of MQM’s Altaf Hussain’s open support to Qadianis and imposition of still more Qadianis on key posts will be looked into.

The detailed story mentioned that:

1. The meeting had been called by a) Zahid ur Rashidi of Pakistan Shariah Council, b) Mulla Ilyas Chinioti, the Amir of International Khatme Nabuwwat Movement and, c) Abdul Latif Khalid Cheema of Majlis Ahrar Islam.
2. The invitees are:
   
   • Jamiat Ulama Islam (JUI)
   • Jamaat Islami (JI)
   • The banned Millat Islamia (former SSP)
   • Jamiat Ulama Pakistan (JUP)
   • Jamiat Ahle Hadith
   • Jamaat Al-Dawaa Pakistan (the banned Lashkar Taiba)
   • Khaksar Tehrik
   • Pakistan Shariat Council
   • International Khatme Nabuwwat Movement
   • Majlis Ahrar Islam
3. The proclaimed aim is to further promote the agenda of a joint effort of the religious parties and to re-organize the Khatme Nabuwwat movement on contemporary lines.

It should be noted that:

• Parties that are officially banned for their terrorist activities were also invited.
• All the invited groups favour the Taliban and the ongoing militancy.
• All the invited groups thrive on sectarian activities and do not shun violence.
• Majlis Ahrar Islam is the party that was anti-Pakistan prior to its Independence, and attempted great harm to the country in the 1953 agitation, as was concluded by the high level judicial commission in its “Report of the Court of Inquiry constituted under Punjab Act II of 1954 to enquire into the PUNJAB DISTURBANCES OF 1953.”
• Mulla Ilyas Chinioti, MPA joined the PML (N) after his recent election to the Punjab Assembly and claims close relations with PML (N) leadership.
  

This multi-party meeting has been called in these days when forces of terrorism and militancy pose a serious threat to be stability of the Pakistani state. The issue of the End of Prophethood is most likely a cover.

E-mail exhorting terrorism

Hyderabad: Qureshi Bros, a business-house owned by Ahmadis in Hyderabad received an unusual E-mail this month. It is in Urdu. Its English translation is provided below:

For general information

Qadianis, their businesses and their homes will all be blown to dust.
O Muslim, expel them from your trade centers so that you do not lose business.
Inform us of the Qadianis at the address given below, and thus participate in Jihad.
E mail: Kill-the-qadyanis-2008@ yahoo.com

The message apparently relates to commerce, and is aimed at getting rid of Ahmadi competition. Terrorism is seen to be the only answer they have on any issue.

Joint session adopts resolution

Islamabad; October 21, 2008: The Joint Session of the two houses of parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling for “an urgent review of the national security strategy and revisiting the methodology of combating terrorism in order to restore peace and stability….”

Some extracts of this important resolution should be placed on record of this Report so as to facilitate reference to it later. Excerpts:
“This in-camera joint session of parliament has noted with great concern that extremism, militancy and terrorism in all forms and manifestations pose a grave danger to the stability and integrity of the nation-state. It was recalled that in the past the dictatorial regimes pursued policies aimed at perpetuating their own power at the cost of the national interest.
…
“The challenge of militancy and extremism must be met through developing a consensus and dialogue with all genuine stakeholders.
“The nation stands united to combat this growing menace, with a strong public message condemning all forms and manifestations of terrorism, including the spread of sectarian hatred and violence with a firm resolve to combat it and to address its root causes.
“That the state shall maintain the rule of law….
“That the federation must be strengthened through the process of democratic pluralism, social justice, religious values and tolerance and equitable resource sharing between the provinces as enshrined in the Constitution of 1973.”

It is hoped that the government and the legislators will all remember their present findings and resolve, and will not be discriminative and selective about them. One is reminded that in the past few weeks two Ahmadi leaders were assassinated in Sindh and all the Ahmadi students of the medical college at Faisalabad were rusticated, but no political leader, except one brave soul residing in London, took a stand in public that these were great wrongs that had been committed. One hopes that the democratic leadership will not succumb to the temptation of pursuing “policies aimed at perpetrating their own power” like the past “dictatorial regimes”.

The government’s response this month in Azad Kashmir towards holding a conference by the sectarian extremists of the Khatme Nabuwwat faction deserves tribute.
Update on the Punjab Medical College Faisalabad case

Faisalabad: It should be recalled that the college administration rusticated all the Ahmadi students five months ago in June 2008. Subsequent to the protest from various quarters, the higher authorities took note and undertook a damage control exercise.

Subsequent to the various inquiries and investigations in the events of the PMC, the Health Department of the Government of the Punjab permitted 15 of the 23 Ahmadi students to continue their studies at the PMC. They are now attending the college and the female students are residing in the hostel. The government, with approval of the Chief Minister, has issued a notification for the rest of the 8 students, three male and five female, to be transferred to other colleges, as listed below:

1. Miss Sanaa Nasir 1st year F.J. Medical College Lahore
2. Miss Hina Munawwar Bajwa 2nd year Allama Iqbal Medical College Lahore
3. Miss Shamama tul Anbar 2nd year Allama Iqbal Medical College Lahore
4. Miss Robina Aslam 2nd year Services Institute Medical College Lahore
5. Miss Noshin Zafar 3rd year Services Institute Medical College Lahore
6. Mr. Mohammad Zeeshan 4th year Nishtar Medical College Multan
7. Syed Hasan Ahmad 3rd year Sh. Zaid Medical College Rahim Yar Khan
8. Syed Ehsan Ahmad 3rd year Quaid-i-Azam Medical College Bahawalpur

The first six students have joined their colleges. The last two at Serial 7 & 8 have sent an application to the Governor and the Chief Minister that the decision is discriminatory and they should also be transferred to Lahore as the situation in Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan is tense.

It is relevant to mention that the police sent for all the Ahmadi students individually for investigation, and have concluded the inquiry; however the police case registered as FIR has not been quashed. Also, no case was registered against any of the non-Ahmadi students or teachers who precipitated the riot and the tumult in the first place.

'God moves in mysterious way
His wonders to perform'

Faisalabad; September 2008: Here is an inspiring story; worth telling and placing on record.

A man named Imtiaz Shah lived in Faisalabad for years. He appeared to be religious, but regrettably he was not a good man. He joined the Khatme Nabuwwat faction and became a rabid activist after the promulgation of the notorious anti-Ahmadiyya Ordinance XX in 1984. He was always on the lookout to implicate Ahmadis in the mischief of this law, and succeeded greatly. He was instrumental in implicating no less than 150 Ahmadis in various police cases. He also made it a habit to shout insults at any Ahmadi he came across, even women. He would often turn violent if his victim protested. He was booked by the police in Hudood cases (sex-related). The authorities knew him to be an evil man; they expelled him once from the city for a few months.

He returned, more active than before. He committed an assault on an Ahmadi, Zaheer Ahmad and injured him grievously. His victim did not live long after the incident.

On November 14, 2002, Imtiaz Shah, accompanied by an associate Rafaqat, intercepted an Ahmadi, Mr. Abdul Waheed in the bazaar at about 1100. While Rafaqat held Waheed firmly, Imtiaz stabbed him with a dagger. When Abdul Waheed fell, the murderer announced to the people nearby that he had dispatched a Qadiani and told them not to help the victim. Waheed was thereafer taken to a hospital where he died. He is survived by his widow and three daughters aged 6, 4, and 2.

The next day Imtiaz Shah reported to the police station and proudly admitted to have performed a religious duty. the police arrested him and Rafaqat, and sent the case to an Anti-Terrorism Court. The judge sentenced Imtiaz Shah to death and Rafaqat to life imprisonment. Later, a sessions judge unjustly set Rafaqat free.

The grieved party and Imtiaz Shah both appealed to the High Court. The High Court surprisingly endorsed Rafaqat’s acquittal, and provided further relief to Imtiaz Shah by reducing his sentence to mere seven years in prison. This was unprecedented in legal history, under the circumstances of the case.

Ahmadis, thereafter, approached the Supreme Court that apex court set aside the High Court decision. The presiding judge of the Supreme Court refused to consider the complaint, and summarily and arrogantly announced his verdict to endorse the High Court decision (Guess who the Chief Justice was!). He dismissed the case within a few minutes.

In the second half of 2008, Imtiaz Shah was looking forward to his impending freedom. He sent threatening messages from the prison to Ahmadis that he would ‘take care’ of them on his release. Ahmadis felt disturbed at the prospects. In the situation that prevails in Pakistan, Ahmadis have turned to God and pray every day: “O Allah, we make Thee a shield against the opponents and seek Thy protection against their evil designs”. It seems God decided to intervene on behalf of these victims of violence.

In the recent weeks, Imtiaz Shah’s behavior became rather erratic in the prison, and he appeared disordered. On October 5, 2008 he had a heart attack. He was shifted to the Allied Hospital in Faisalabad where he died. Three days later, on October 8, Rafaqat, his helper in the murder of Mr. Abdul Waheed also had a cardiac arrest and failed to recover. Then only two days later, one of their principal influences, Bashir A Makon also had a heart attack and died on October 10, 2008. Thus, within only five days, these three public enemies of the Ahmadi community came to naught in Faisalabad.

‘God don’t come when you want Him but He’s right on time.’ (anon. jazz historian, in Tennessee William’s Memoirs)

Ahmadis behind bars

1. Mr. Muhammad Iqbal was imprisoned for life in a fabricated case of blasphemy. He was arrested in March 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. It is registered as Criminal Appeal No 89/2005. He is now in the fifth 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 cell at a prison in Jehlum, while their appeal lies with the Lahore High Court. These innocent 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. The judge rejected his plea for bail.
4. Rana Khalil Ahmad, an elderly and disabled gentleman, is detained for allegedly writing a letter to a cleric.
5. Another eight Ahmadis in Rabwah were arrested in the Ramadan calendars case after their temporary bails were cancelled by the judge.
   

From the press

Haripur’s renowned doctor Aslam suffered grievous injuries in a murderous attack.
I attacked him for being a Qadiani; the accused told the press.

The daily Mohasib, Abotabad; October 30, 2008

Two-day Khatme Nabuwwat conference will be held at Chenab Nagar on 30, 31 October.

The daily Jang, Lahore; October 20, 2008

Chenab Nagar: (Correspondent) Eight out of 16 traders’ bail was cancelled, and they were sent to prison under the Anti-Ahmadiyya Ordinance.

The daily Jang, Lahore; October 20, 2008

Minorities have equal rights. — Raja (Riaz, Senior Minister in Punjab)

The daily News, Lahore; October 13, 2008

Mulla-led movements have always caused nothing but mischief (Fitna). — Prof Rafiq Akhtar

The daily Aman, Faisalabad; October 13, 2008

Break ties with US and formulate policies in accord with peoples’ wishes. — Khatme Nabuwwat Conference at Sargodha.

The daily Jang, Lahore; October 24, 2008

Qazi announces train march against US hits.

The daily Post, Lahore; October 05, 2008

The Third Crusade is underway. Muslims are under attack under Jewish plan. — Dr Israr Ahmad

The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore; October 19, 2008

600 Qadianis from Pakistan have enrolled in the Israeli Army. Qadianis collected huge donations for Indian Army in Kargil campaign. Jewish researcher

The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore; October 06, 2008

We shall continue to hold Khatme Nabuwwat conferences under the patronage of Pir Atiq ur Rahman (of Azad Kashmir). We shall go wherever required to crush Qadianiat. — Abdul Hamid Qadri

The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore; October 23, 2008

Chenab Nagar: Life paralyzed due (electric) load-shedding. Electric supply interrupted on fabricated excuse of repairs.

The daily Aman, Faisalabad; October 14, 2008

30 days prove insufficient to provide water to Chenab Nagar.

The daily Jang, Lahore; October 24, 2008

Punjab University administration takes over control of 4 rooms in Hostel No.1 that were occupied by the Jamiat (IJT) for four decades. The administration took this action through a committee, after recovery of fire-arms from hostels, Fax machine, computers, posters and other equipment from Room Nos. 139, 140, 141 and 142.
The action is illegal. Liaquat Baloch
IJT used these rooms for political purposes, to beat up students and to intimidate non-student elements. University administration
…
(Excerpt). Professor Dr Saeed Ahmad Nagra, the Chairman of the Hall Council told the daily Pakistan: The Jamiat occupied these rooms since long before and used them for political activities, to beat up and intimidate university students, and to provide accommodation to non-student personnel. One of the rooms was designated as a Rest House. He stated that the university had simply restored its writ and has done nothing illegal. “IJI has designated someone as ‘Nazim Jamiat’; he is not even a student at the university. We shall now make suitable alterations to these rooms and use them as store and residential spaces for security guards,” he said.

The daily Pakistan, Lahore; October 01, 2008

Fazl (ur Rahman) emerges as ‘Taliban spokesman’ in Parliament.

The Daily Times, Lahore; October 17, 2008

Suicidal attacks within Pakistan are prohibited by Shariah (Haram) and unlawful (Najaiz). — Undisputed edict of the Mutahidda Ulama Council

The daily Jinnah, Lahore; October 15, 2008

Mutahidda Ulama Council’s edict (fatwa) has no sanction; a committee will be formed of the recognized ulama. — Pakistan Ulama Council

The daily Jinnah, Lahore; October 15, 2008

False claimant to Prophecy arrested in Toba Tek Singh. Booked under the Blasphemy law.
The accused published his claim in a book. Distributors of the book also arrested.

The Daily Express, Faisalabad; October 20, 2008

Orakzai Agency: 113 dead in suicide attack

The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore; October 12, 2008

15 troops killed in Swat ambush

The daily Dawn, Lahore; October 23, 2008

9 killed in suicide attack on Mardan DIG’s convoy

The Daily Times, Lahore; Nov 01, 2008

Bomber mows down 50 in attack in jirga (in Kuram Agency)

The daily Dawn, Lahore; October 11, 2008

Suicide blast at PML-N MP’s house kills 25 (at Bhakkar)

The Daily Times, Lahore; October 07,2008

(Mulla) Fazlullah announces ‘conditional amnesty’ for pro-govt leaders
Taliban chief in Swat says those who renounce support for army won’t be killed.

The Daily Times, Lahore; October 09, 2008

Series of blasts panics Lahories. Seven injured as remote-controlled bombs target three juice shops in Garhi Shahu

The Daily Times, Lahore; October 08, 2008

The government should change its policies, otherwise NWFP will break away. — Fazlur Rahman

The Daily Express, Faisalabad; Nov 01, 2008

Op-eds

On Pakistan

It takes a big bomb to make a point in Pakistan these days.

The weekly Time, U.S.; October 06, 2008

Hobbling along

Our moth-eaten Pakistan will hobble along, led as it always has been since 1948 by men endowed with mediocrity or men endowed with moral depravation, until, God’s infinite grace, it rights itself and follows the path envisaged by its Founder-Maker, Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

The daily Dawn, Lahore; October 19, 2008