By A. Abdul Aziz

According to London based InternationlalHuman Rights  Committee (IHRC), Pakistani cleric Mold Habib-ur-Rehman (Deobandi) of Dhudial, Mansehra has openly called for the murder of Ahmadi citizens, at a conference held at Takiya Stop, Mansehra on 20 August 2024.

A video1of the speech shows the extremist cleric exhorting the audience, proclaiming:

From now on wherever it will be known that he is a Qadiani (Ahmadi) be it an Army Officer, he has to be killed, be it a Policeman he has to be killed, be it a Judge or a Lawyer he has to be killed.”

He further affirmed his announcement” to government officials and the society at large.

The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) calls upon Pakistani authorities to investigate this incident and prosecute violations of Pakistani and international law that have occurred. We consider these remarks to be incitement to violence, which can lead to further abuses of Pakistan’s Ahmadi citizens.  Neglect of this responsibility will confer impunity upon others who incite violence, can only imply a posture of complicity.

And once again, the IHRC implores international human rights officials to focus on such threats and understand that an entire religious minority is facing lethal, and intensifying violence in Pakistan.

This incitement to violence and murder is inconsistent with international norms and values concerning freedom of religion and belief, as enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), on the freedom of religion, and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which was ratified by Pakistan in 2008. Three other UN human rights treaties, as well as numerous General Assembly Resolutions and Human Rights Committee comments, prohibit religious discrimination. These speeches make it to viral social media posts and videos also violate Pakistan’s own National Action Plan as well as the recently enacted cybercrime laws because it fuels hatred, discriminatioand persecution against members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan.

Nonetheless, the Pakistani government authorities, who continue to bring frivolous cases against Ahmadi Muslims under anti-Ahmadiyya, blasphemy, and cybercrime laws, turn a blind eye towards systematic and country-wide efforts by Islamic extremists to fan hatred and ignite violence against Ahmadi Muslims. Instead of prosecuting the makers of these social media posts and videos under cybercrime laws and the National Action Plan, the governmental authorities continue to protect and support extremists and target innocent Ahmadis.

In July 2024, a group of top UN Human Rights experts including UN Special Rapporteurs urged an immediate end to discrimination and violence against Ahmadis in Pakistan, citing documented evidence of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, attacks on places of worship and curtailment of free expression, peaceful assembly and association.” Apparently, their pleas fell on deaf ears.

We call upon the Pakistani authorities to honor their international human rights commitments to protect religious freedom and promote religious tolerance towards the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

We respectfully request all members of the international community to urge the government of Pakistan to take urgent steps to bring its laws and practices in conformity with international standards as ordained by UDHR and ICCPR.