CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

NEW GOVERNMENT FAILS TO PROTECT MINORITY RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN

AHMADIYYA MUSLIM JAMA’AT - SRI LANKA 619/4, Baseline Road, Colombo 9, Sri Lanka.

It is with great regret that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community notes that the persecution of its members in Pakistan has not only continued, but in fact worsened since a new Government was formed in the country some months ago. This despite the fact that the incoming Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani claimed upon taking office that his Government was committed to religious freedom.

In the aforementioned period over 50 Ahmadis in Pakistan have been charged under specific anti-Ahmadiyya laws simply as a result of their faith. The Ahmadis charged include Mr Subedar Mushtaq Ahmad who is 75 years old and Mr Rab Nawaz who recently converted to Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

Places of worship have been destroyed by local authorities in Azad Kashmir whilst in District Badin, Sindh the local Ahmadiyya mosque was sealed by the authorities. Furthermore anti-Ahmadiyya riots in Kotri, Sindh recently left 60 Ahmadi homes damaged, yet no action was taken by the authorities.

Regarding education, 23 students at Punjab Medical College were recently ‘rusticated’ following a hate campaign by an extremist student faction. This led to great anxiety and worry for the students concerned, their families and indeed for the Ahmadiyya Community worldwide.

This year the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is celebrating the centenary of ‘Khilafat’, which is the system of spiritual leadership that unites all of its members. These celebrations are taking place throughout the world during the calendar year of 2008. However in Pakistan the authorities have tried their utmost to prevent the local Ahmadis from celebrating this historic occasion. In respect of this a number of Ahmadi Muslims have been arrested for no other reason than that they were peacefully and respectfully taking part in the centenary celebrations.

In October 2005, 8 Ahmadis in Mong, Pakistan, were brutally killed and 20 others were injured whilst offering their morning prayers at the local mosque. All of the accused have just been acquitted by the authorities in Gujranwala and thus the search for justice in that horrific incident continues.

The incidents mentioned above reflect only a small portion of the continued persecution faced by Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan. The country itself is currently facing an increasingly uncertain future and thus it would be expected that the country would do all it could to protect its most loyal and honest citizens. Instead, however it is those very citizens who are subject to continued hatred and cruelty.

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