Minority rights: Silence, increasing intolerance make for another grim year

Pakistan

Minority rights: Silence, increasing intolerance make for another grim year

By Ali Usman
Published: December 29, 2011

Minority communities, activists suffered huge setbacks in 2011, beginning with the deaths of Taseer and Bhatti. DESIGN: FAIZAN DAWOOD

LAHORE: Silence became the biggest atrocity against minorities in Pakistan this year. With the rise of the phenomenon of crushing the voice of minority advocates and increasing intolerance, 2011 remained a grim year for minorities in the country.

The year opened with the assassination of then Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer by his own security guard Mumtaz Qadri in Islamabad on January 4. Taseer was killed for speaking against the blasphemy law and raising a voice in favour of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death on charges of blasphemy.

Minority rights activists believe that the incident was a huge setback as not only did they lose a supporter, but the PPP-led government also distanced itself from those who supported amendments in the blasphemy law.

What was equally tragic, if not more, was the fact that Qadri was hailed as a hero by many. “The assassin of the governor who happened to be his guard was garlanded by a group of people. This raised many questions about the protection of minorities,” said Executive Council member of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Nadeem Anthony.

The second major setback followed closely, with the murder of late minister for minorities Shahbaz Bhatti on March 2 in Islamabad.

Bhatti also supported Aasia Bibi and had been playing a role in bringing amendments to the blasphemy law.

“The interior minister has said that the extremist group Sipah-e-Sahaba is behind his murder, yet they are still at large,” said Anthony.

Another tragic incident occurred in Mastung, Balochistan on September 20, when 29 people, mostly from the Hazara Shia community, were killed in two separate targeted incidents.

According to data gathered by The Express Tribune, from 1986 to 2011, at least 39 people booked under the blasphemy law have been killed before or during their trial. Of these, 18 were Christians, 16 were Muslims, two were Ahmadis, one was Hindu and two were unidentified.

Less killings, increasing Intolerance

“The situation of religious minorities in Pakistan progressively worsened,” stated the Working Group on Communities Vulnerable, established by the HRCP.

The group referred not only to violence against members of religious communities but also against the growing intolerance in society.

The group, in its report ‘Life at Risk’, noted that threats to religious minority communities have grown in direct proportion to a rise in militancy. “The factors for the rise in excesses against religious minority communities include not only the advance of militants and religious extremists but also the government’s failure to protect the basic human rights of these communities. No law can make anyone like a person, but if the law and the textbook label a citizen as inferior and another as superior, feelings of dislike increases,” the group maintained.

National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) Executive Head Peter Jacob told The Express Tribune, “The number of discrimination cases against minorities in Pakistan in 2011 isn’t as much as it used to be in previous years; however the scale is larger this year. The phenomenon to silence the voices that speak for minorities is more dangerous and terrible and this is what happened this year”.

Positive steps for minorities

In 2011, several positive laws for minorities were also made. The Hindu Marriage Act has been submitted in the National Assembly and the government is considering making it a treasury bill, Jacob said.

The draft of Christian Marriage and Divorce Act has also been reviewed and is likely to be tabled in parliament.

“For the first time, four seats have been reserved in the Senate for minorities for which election will be held in March,” said Napoleon Qayyum, a Christian rights activist.

Way Forward

The working group further suggested that the quota reserved for minorities must be strictly observed. The group suggests that the lack of tolerance for religious minorities stems from textbooks, which should impart knowledge about all religions in Pakistan.

It suggests that all discriminatory laws against minorities should also be abolished and the National Commission for Minorities should be developed into a body that is independent and powerful.

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

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/?p=313492

Harassment: Three Ahmedis accused under blasphemy laws

Pakistan Punjab

Harassment: Three Ahmedis accused under blasphemy laws

By Rana Tanveer
Published: December 24, 2011

“298 Ahmedis had been charged under the blasphemy laws since 1984,” a spokesman for the Jamaat-i-Ahmediya.

LAHORE: The police have registered cases under the blasphemy laws against a student and his father in Khushab and a headmaster in Gujrat, all three of them Ahmedis.

Sajeel Ahmed, 18, of Khushab was accused of making derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in a first information report (FIR) registered under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which carries the death penalty. The complainant is his classmate Waqas Nadeem, who said that Sajeel had tried to convert other students and made remarks that hurt their religious sentiments.

Sajeel’s father Hakim Jameel was accused of describing his son as a Muslim in his school admission form, an offence under Section 298-C of the PPC with a penalty of up to three years in prison. The complainant in the case is Qari Saeed Ahmed, who submitted that “the Muslims of Khushab are worried about the increasing number and activities of Qadianis in the city”.

Mujahid Ahmed, Sajeel’s brother, said that the police had registered the cases under pressure from religious leaders. “They have been making announcements at local mosques against Ahmedis and taking out protest rallies,” he said. He said that Qari Saeed had a long-term dispute with his father over property. He said that Saeed’s own son, a former teacher of Sajeel, had given police a statement in support of Sajeel. Previously, Jameel had said the charges against them were baseless.

Meanwhile in Gujrat, the police registered a case against Basharat Ahmed, headmaster at Government High Schools Kang Chanan, Gujrat, under Section 295-B of the PPC. He is accused of defiling the Holy Quran, an offence that can be punished with life imprisonment.

Ahmed allegedly snatched Arabic books from students who were cheating during exams at his school and threw the books in a pond. The complainant, Qari Mazhar Zargar, accused him of defiling Quranic verses written in those books.

Mubarik Ahmed Chaudhry, the brother of the accused headmaster, said that no one from the school had joined the case against his brother. He said that Zargar was being directed by people who had a property dispute with his brother.

“The teachers have all given statements to the police backing my brother. The police have been put under pressure by clerics here. The case has been registered six days after the alleged incident,” he said.

Sub Inspector Akhtar Shah, the investigation officer for the case, said that the headmaster had been arrested and investigations were ongoing.

A spokesman for the Jamaat-i-Ahmediya said that the community faced “an organised campaign of hatred and persecution” in Pakistan. “The campaign of hatred has reached new heights where even educational institutions are not safe for Ahmedi students and teachers,” he said.

“Such baseless cases against Ahmedis will not deter us,” he said. “This is not the first time that such cases have been registered against Ahmedis and will not be the last one. As in the past, these cases will also be proven false.”

He said that since 1984, 298 Ahmedis had been charged under the blasphemy laws.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2011.

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/?p=311084

Blasphemy charges: Out of fear, Ahmadi family on the run

Pakistan Punjab

Blasphemy charges: Out of fear, Ahmadi family on the run

By Rana Tanveer
Published: December 15, 2011

Teenager accused of making derogatory remarks against Holy Prophet (PBUH).

LAHORE: Blasphemy allegations continue to haunt minorities in Pakistan.

Aalmi Majlis Tahafuz Khatm-e-Nabuwat (AMTKN) activists alleged that 16-year-old Sajeel committed blasphemy by making derogatory remarks against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his father, Rana Hakim Jameel, had done the same by portraying Sajeel as a Muslim in his school admission form.

Denying that he ever put down Islam as Sajeel’s religion and all other allegations levelled against his son, Jameel’s was a different tale.

According to him, the allegations stemmed from a school fight.

The school principal overheard some students abusing Sajeel and beat them up. The students later accused Sajeel of telling on them and beat him up. When Sajeel actually went to the principal to complain, he learnt that the students had “made up a story, telling the principal they had attacked him because he had made blasphemous remarks”.

Later, Haji Aslam, the school principal, expelled Sajeel.

Fearing their safety, the two have been on the run ever since the charges emerged.

While the police have yet to register an FIR against the accused, they have already started conducting raids for their arrests.

A member of the accused family, Rana Asfandyar, 18, was arrested by the police, who allegedly pressurised the young student to reveal his brother’s whereabouts, Asfandyar’s older brother, Rana Mujahid told The Express Tribune.

At local mosques, various religious scholars were fuelling a hate campaign against Ahmadis, Mujahid alleged, adding that evoking such hatred among the public could prove dire for his family.

However, Khushab police station SHO Raja Arshad told The Express Tribune that since the family refused to tell them about Sajeel’s whereabouts, the police had brought Asfandyar in to record his statement at the DPO’s office. Arshad denied that they had detained the boy.

Mujahid alleged that religious scholars Qari Saeed and Waqas Ahmed were producing “false witnesses” before the police.

SHO Arshad said that they were still in the process of recording the statements of witnesses, and hence, were unable to conclude their investigations.

Meanwhile, Jameel alleged that a property dispute could also be a reason behind the accusations.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2011.

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/?p=306901

For minorities in Pakistan, persecution never ends

Pakistan Punjab

For minorities in Pakistan, persecution never ends

By Abdul Manan
Published: December 4, 2011

Dug out, desecrated graves at the Ahmadi graveyard.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blasphemy allegations: Ahmadi family under threat from clerics

Pakistan Punjab

Blasphemy allegations: Ahmadi family under threat from clerics

By Rana Tanveer
Published: December 1, 2011

“The police should come and see me. If I go to the police station, thousands of Muslims will come with me and there will be unrest,” Qari Saeed.

LAHORE: An Ahmadi family in Khushab says it is being victimised by local clerics who instigated the expulsion of a 16-year-old from his school and are now pressing the police to register blasphemy cases against him and his father.

The father, Hakim Jameel, told The Express Tribune that activists of the Aalmi Majlis Tahafuz Khatme Nabuwat (AMTKN) were also trying to get his other two sons expelled from a college where they are ICom and BSc students.

AMTKN members insisted that the 16-year-old student of class 10 and his father had both committed blasphemy. They also made thinly-veiled threats to this correspondent not to publish this story.

Qari Saeed, the divisional president of AMTKN, and Waqas Ahmed moved the application seeking a case under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code against Rana Sajeel, 16, for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), and under Section 289 against his father Rana Hakim Jameel for allegedly describing Sajeel as a Muslim in the school admission form.

The law does not permit anyone to call Ahmadis Muslims. Jameel denied putting down Islam as Sajeel’s religion, saying he had put down Ahmadi, as he had done when his other sons were applying to colleges.

He said the allegation against his son stemmed from a fight at school. He said that the school’s principal had overheard some students abusing Sajeel and had beaten them up. The students accused Sajeel of telling on them and beat him up. Sajeel then went to the principal to complain. “They made up a story, telling the principal they had attacked him because he made blasphemous remarks,” Jameel said.

He said that the principal of Al-Tahir Public School, Haji Aslam, was an AMTKN supporter and had lost an eye during a protest organised by the group. “The principal expelled my son and then got together with other AMTKN activists to lodge a police complaint,” Jameel said.

He said since the family had been accused of blasphemy, the AMTKN had been organising meetings at a mosque near their residence where they made inflammatory speeches. “People have turned against us,” he said. “We are under serious threat.”

He said that a property dispute may also lie behind the accusations. In August 2011, the Jamaat-i-Ahmadia had moved the courts against a woman named Zaibun Nisa who had tried to sell off land belonging to the Jamaat as her own, he said. Her grandfather had donated the land to the Jamaat in his will, he said.

The court ordered the registration of a case against Nisa and four others for fraud. She spent about three weeks in jail, before she announced that she was renouncing the community and moved in with Qari Saeed. He also arranged for her bail, Jameel said.

Qari Saeed said that he had no doubt that the police would register the blasphemy cases as “hundreds of students” had told him about the incident. Asked why he had not contacted the Khushab DPO when he was summoned as part of the investigation, he said: “The police should come to me if they need me. If I go to the police station, thousands of Muslims will come with me and there will be unrest.”

He admitted that Zaibun Nisa and her family were residing with him, but insisted that had nothing to do with this case. Asked about the property dispute, he lost his temper and hung up. Shortly after, a man identifying himself as AMTKN secretary general Abdullah phoned this correspondent and sought the address of The Tribune offices, saying he would send over some Lahore-based activists. As of late Wednesday night, they had not arrived.

A relative of Qari Saeed who taught at Al-Tahir School, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Sajeel had been his student and he did not believe that the boy had made blasphemous remarks. He said Saeed had a deep personal hatred towards Ahmadis.

Khushab DPO Imran Mahmood said that he was personally investigating the case and would not register the FIRs without substantial evidence. He said he would decide the applications in a few days.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2011.

Copyrighted © 2011 The Express Tribune News Network
URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/300305/...from-clerics/

Changed music

Pakistan Punjab

Changed music

By Editorial
June 09, 2010

In the face of a barrage of criticism from many quarters, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has suddenly discovered that Ahmadis are equal citizens of Pakistan. Speaking recently in Lahore, he termed the community as ‘our brothers and sisters’ and asserted they should not be victimised.

Till now, the PML-N had taken a rather ambiguous position on the whole matter. It was under the government of Shahbaz Sharif that the town of Rabwah near Chiniot, with its population of around 70,000 consisting mainly of Ahmadis, was re-named Chenab Nagar against the wishes of the community. No attempt was made under the PML-N government to prevent speakers at religious gatherings – some of them held in the immediate vicinity of Rabwah – attacking the Ahmadis.

On the wider issue of extremism, while the PML-N has condemned terrorist attacks, it has been far more cautious in speaking out against the Taliban. Shahbaz Sharif’s curious labelling of the assertion that many such groups operated in the Punjab as an attack on Punjabis is another example of this ambiguity.

The evidence that the PML-N may be changing its tone is good news. There have been meetings on a possible operation in the southern Punjab. This is badly needed. We must hope the matter is taken beyond rhetoric and leads to change. While Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ranks as the province worst affected by militancy, the Punjab harbours a huge number of madrassas and has traditionally been all too hospitable to the sectarian groups that have sprung up in its towns. There is also another key difference. While the ANP, the party now in government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, has openly spoken against the militants, the two factions of the PML that have held power in the Punjab over the past decade have been reluctant to do so.

We must hope that the PML-N is willing to change its stance and this is followed through with consistency and does not change once the wave of pressure dissipates.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 9th, 2010.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/19762/changed-music/