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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>Three Ahmadiyya community members arrested after LHC rejects bail</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2266686/three-ahmadiyya-community-members-arrested-after-lhc-rejects-bail</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2266686/three-ahmadiyya-community-members-arrested-after-lhc-rejects-bail#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 20 11:40:26 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Rana Yasif]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category><category><![CDATA[Lahore]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2266686</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Court rejects petitioners' plea seeking FIR against complainant, others for entering worship place without permission]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Punjab police arrested three members of the Ahmadiyya community accused of using Islamic symbols and practices at their place of worship, after the Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed their pre-arrest bails on Friday.

The court also rejected the petitioner&#39;s plea seeking an FIR to be registered against witnesses and complainant who entered into their place of worship without permission.

Complainant Hafiz Farman Ali, on May 3, 2020, got an FIR registered against the accused in Mangatanwala district Nankana Sahib under sections 298-B and 298-C Pakistan Penal Code PPC.

Petitioners Tahir Nakkash, Akbar Ali and Sharafat Ahmad had filed an application for pre-arrest bails in the LHC, contending that they had been implicated in a forged FIR even though they have nothing to do with this case.

They maintained that they had not committed any offence and had been roped in the case with malafide intentions and ulterior motive.

They further observed that they had earlier filed bail applications in sessions court of Nankana Sahib but, on August 7, 2020 their bails were dismissed due to their absence from court. The petitioner&#39;s cited the court&#39;s atmosphere turning extremely grim as the reason for not showing up in court.

There were serious security concerns for the petitioners after an alleged Ahmadi was killed in the courtroom as police produced him before the court, the petitioners&#39; stated.

The police had no justification to arrest the petitioners, and in the circumstances of this case, the arrest of the petitioners would be the violation of the fundamental rights of the petitioners as guaranteed under Articles 9 and 10-A of the constitution.

On the other hand, the complainant counsel, advocate Muhammad Tayyab Qureshi argued that the accused had committed a heinous offence by using Islamic symbols and practices.

They prayed to the court that the evidence was on record that the accused had constructed their place of worship similar to a mosque ,merely to deceive the Muslims and hurt their sentiments.

According to the prosecution, the people present on the occasion also saw Quran&#39;s verses painted on walls of the worship place. Copies of the Quran were also placed.

According to the judgment of the country&rsquo;s top court, those (Ahmaddiya community members) who will use the first Kalma would be considered blasphemers.]]>
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			<title>Sidelining marginalised groups</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/989749/sidelining-marginalised-groups</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/989749/sidelining-marginalised-groups#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 15 00:43:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=989749</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Now the ECP has abolished Form 8 and included its wording for non-Muslims in Form 2]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Looking at the various moves of the government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), it would appear that Ahmadis are being systematically alienated from the country’s democratic system. Ahmadis, who have remained distant from elections since 1977, do not occupy a single assembly seat specified for minorities.

In 1985, General Ziaul Haq introduced the system of separate electorates and voter lists were prepared on the basis of religion, with there being a separate list for every religion. If one wanted to be listed as a Muslim voter, they had to sign a certificate repudiating the founding of Ahmadiyat. This system continued until the rule of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, who announced the restoration of joint electorates in May 2002. He, however, could not stand by this and on June 17, 2002, had to issue the Chief Executive’s Order No 15, to create a separate ‘supplementary list of voters’ in which Ahmadi voters were categorised as ‘non-Muslim’. It is still in effect.

In the 2002 elections, the ECP introduced two separate forms for registration of voters; one for Muslims (Form 2) and another for Non-Muslims (Form 8). It was made obligatory for Ahmadis to apply using Form 8. The result was that no Ahmadi registered as a voter because they do not accept that they are non-Muslims. Now the ECP has abolished Form 8 and included its wording for non-Muslims in Form 2. This form also includes a warning that providing inaccurate information about religion will be punishable.

On January 17, 2007, the ECP in its letter No F1(6)/2001-Cord ordered “separate supplementary lists of draft electoral rolls for Ahmadis/Qadianis be published”. Ahmadis do not want to avail the right to vote after having been officially categorised by the state as non-Muslims.

Although the chief election commissioner referred to data from NADRA and registered all Ahmadis as voters, they maintain that they do not want to avail this concession at the cost of their faith.

Although the recent local government elections were held on the basis of joint electorate, they are not joint in true spirit. The electorates remain separate, particularly for Ahmadis. These procedures predictably have resulted in disassociation of the Ahmadi community from elections. As such, for decades now, no Ahmadi has been a member of any assembly, be it national, provincial or even district level. Ahmadis have no representation in the town council of even Chenab Nagar (Rabwah), their own town and headquarters. No representative of theirs has contested the local government elections held across the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th, 2015.

 ]]>
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			<title>15 months on, Ahmadi families await return</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/969887/15-months-on-ahmadi-families-await-return</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/969887/15-months-on-ahmadi-families-await-return#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 08 Oct 15 23:29:09 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=969887</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The community leader said families that had returned were not related to them]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Three of the six Ahmadi families displaced in Gujranwala after an infuriated mob torched their houses in Arafat Colony have not been able to return home despite the passage of over 15 months.


The mob had attacked houses belonging to members of Jamaat-i-Ahmadiyya in the colony on July 28, 2014 after asserting that 20-year-old Aqib Saleem, an Ahmadi, had shared a blasphemous post on Facebook. A case was registered against Saleem and police had nabbed the blasphemy suspect. His case was later heard at an anti-terrorism court. Five-year-old Hira Tabassum, three-year-old Kainat Tabassum and their grandmother Bushra Begum were burnt alive in the incident. The mob had torched another five houses in the locality. The residences were pillaged before being set ablaze.

Saddam Hussain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khurram, Asif Butt, Asif Dhobi, Tariq Sindhu, Maulvi Hakim Khan and Muhammad Noor had been nominated in an FIR of the incident filed on the complaint of Muhammad Boota, the father of the deceased girls. Police had declared Khan, Hussain and Butt innocent. Khan had been accused of inciting the mobsters by making provocative announcements at a local mosque in the FIR. The other suspects have been imprisoned.

Lahore High Court had dismissed Sindhu’s bail application last week. The Supreme Court had turned down bail applications of Noor and Khurram on September 2, 2009.

On the other hand, the court trying Saleem had acquitted him on August 15, 2015. The counsel for the petitioner had informed the court that his client had been accused of sharing the post in question on July 27, 2014. He said a probe had established that his Facebook account had not been used from July 20 to 28.

Local Ahmadi leader Iqrar Ahmed told The Express Tribune that three of the affected families had returned to the locality. He said locals had not allowed the remaining families to return. Ahmed said Boota, Fazal and Saleem’s families had not been allowed to return. He said they had returned to the locality but had vacated their residences once again after being threatened. Ahmed said the families in question were directly involved in the attack.

He said Boota’s mother had been killed by the mob and Saleem was accused of blasphemy. The community leader said families that had returned were not related to them. Ahmed said police had been patronising the suspects instead of nabbing them earlier. He said they were arrested following the introduction of the National Action Plan against terrorism. Ahmed said police had informed the community that the department would ensure the safe return of the remaining families when the time was right.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2015.]]>
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			<title>LHC grants bail to Ahmadi man</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/584730/lhc-grants-bail-to-ahmedi-man</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/584730/lhc-grants-bail-to-ahmedi-man#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 13 04:31:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=584730</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Petitioner says he is being victimised for his religious beliefs.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Lahore High Court on Wednesday granted bail to an Ahmadi man alleged to have committed blasphemy.


The case relates to an FIR lodged at Old Anarkali police station on February 24 under Sections 295B (defiling the Holy Quran) and 298C (an Ahmadi calling himself a Muslim) against unnamed people.

The FIR was lodged on the application of Advocate Rana Muhammad Tufail on behalf of his client Muhammad Mazhar. He said that his client had visited a shop namely Altaf Book Binding in order to get his diary bound. He said that there were many books and copies of the Holy Quran at the shop. When he looked through some of them, he found blasphemous material in them, he alleged.

Mazhar then called Police 15 and they seized “many objectionable books” from the shop. He asked the police to take action against the publishers, binders, proofreaders, retailers and all others involved in the process of publishing and distributing the books.

Petitioner Asmatullah submitted that police had arrested Syed Altaf, the shop owner, and then arrested him. He said he had nothing to do with the case as he merely owned the building in which the shop was located. He said that he was being victimised because of his religious beliefs. He said that Altaf had been granted bail and he should get the same relief. The judge reserved the verdict after hearing the arguments from both sides. He announced the grant of bail later the same day.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1st, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Dispossession: Ahmedis banished from place of worship</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/584181/dispossession-ahmedis-banished-from-place-of-worship-lahore-city</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/584181/dispossession-ahmedis-banished-from-place-of-worship-lahore-city#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 30 Jul 13 19:09:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=584181</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Police refuse to register FIR, refer matter to interfaith body.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Ahmedis in Fatehpur, Gujrat district, have been banished from their own place of worship in Ramazan and fear that they will be deprived of the property by the local government and clerics.


On July 11, the first day of Ramazan, a group of Sunnis beat up the Ahmedis and kicked them out of the place of worship, telling them not to return, according to members of the Ahmedi community.

The Ahmedis filed a complaint with the police for the registration of an FIR against the assailants. The police did not register a case, nor heeded their request for protection. Instead, they sealed the place of worship, which is located on a four-marla plot, “because of concerns of a clash,” Dolatnagar SHO Riaz Qadir told The Express Tribune. He said that previously, both Sunnis and Ahmedis had prayed there.

In fact, the members of the two communities are related. The place of worship is located on four marlas within an eight-kanal property owned by an Ahmedi family which they were allotted when the Revenue Department conducted a consolidation exercise, known as ‘ishtimal’, some 20 years ago. Such land consolidation exercises are carried out every so often when inheritance laws result in the non-contiguous division of land holdings between heirs.

Police and revenue

The SHO said that according to the Revenue Department record, the building had been a Sunni mosque, but had been transferred to Ahmedis around 20 years ago. He said that the Sunnis were now claiming ownership of the place as a Sunni mosque.

The SHO said that he had seen the Jamat-i-Ahmadiya’s ownership document for a four-marla property within that eight-kanal parcel, but the document did not specify where exactly within that eight kanals the four-marla property was located.

He said that the question of ownership had been referred to the National Interfaith Peace and Harmony Committee and the property sealed in the meantime, with the approval of the district coordination officer. He said that the Sunnis had agreed to this, but the Ahmedis had not.

Asked why no assault case had been registered on the Ahmedis’ complaint after members of the community were beaten up and thrown out of the place of worship on the first day of Ramazan, the SHO said that since no blood had been spilt, there could be no FIR.

Land record

The eight kanals within which the four-marla property is located is owned by Tahir Hameed, who inherited the land from his father. Hameed, 18, said that his father had donated the four-marla property to the Jamat-i-Ahmadiya to build a place of worship, which they named Baitul Zikr. “Ahmedis have been praying there since before I was born,” he said.

He said that on the first of Ramazan, Munir Shah, Ahmed Raza, Maulvi Shabbir and others had attacked his brother Qamar Hameed and his cousin Adnan Ahmed and forced them out of the worship place. He said his brother and cousin had been beaten up. He said they were under severe threat from locals and had been told to disown the property. “Some extremist clerics have turned the locals against us and are trying to dislodge us,” he said.

Hameed said that the community had no faith in the Interfaith Peace and Harmony Committee, which is why they did not accept its role in arbitration.

When contacted by The Express Tribune, Asim Imtiaz, the vice president of the committee, said that he was at the patwari’s office and trying to establish the ownership of the disputed land.

He said that the four-marla property appeared to have been transferred to the Jamat-i-Ahmadiya by the patwari “by mistake”. He added that he was hopeful the dispute would be resolved and the property “would be given to Muslims”.

Tanveer Ahmed, another member of the Ahmedi community in Fatehpur, said that local clerics had been making worrying announcements in the mosques of nearby villages and he feared that there would be mob attacks on Ahmedis. He said that Ahmedis did not trust the committee to remain impartial on the matter.

“The Jamat-i-Ahmadiya has ownership documents for the property,” he said. “It is the responsibility of the police and the state to follow the law in settling the matter.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2013. ]]>
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			<title>'Blasphemous newspaper': Court denies bail to Ahmadi distributors</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/565343/blasphemous-newspaper-court-denies-bail-to-ahmadi-distributors</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/565343/blasphemous-newspaper-court-denies-bail-to-ahmadi-distributors#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 13 12:14:45 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=565343</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Two other alleged accomplices were granted bail.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A division bench of the Lahore High Court dismissed bail applications on Wednesday of two Ahmadi men with blasphemy cases registered against them at Islampur police station.

Presided by Justice Tariq Masood, the bench dismissed bail applications of Khalid Asfhaq and Tahir Mahmood after listening to cases presented by both the prosecution and the defendant.

Police officials had registered an FIR on the complaint of Muhammad Hassan Muavia under Pakistan Penal Code and Anti Terrorist Act.

The complainant had accused them of printing and distributing Jamaat-i-Ahmadia's community newspaper, Al Fazal.

It was alleged that the newspaper had blasphemous content.

Editor of the newspaper Abdul Sami and printer, Tahir Mehdi were also nominated in the FIR but they were not arrested till the filing of the report.

Earlier an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) had also dismissed bail applications of Ashfaq and Mahmood but alleged accomplices, Faisal Tahir and Azhar Zarif were granted bail.]]>
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			<title>Motive for murder: Ahmadi man killed ‘because of his faith’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/565175/motive-for-murder-ahmadi-man-killed-because-of-his-faith</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/565175/motive-for-murder-ahmadi-man-killed-because-of-his-faith#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 13 04:28:22 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=565175</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Investigation officer says it was likely due to a personal enmity.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[A member of the Jamaat-i-Ahmadia was shot dead in Green Town, allegedly because of his faith.


Four armed teenagers entered Jawad Karim’s house on Monday and shot him dead. They then walked away from the scene, said Imtiaz Adnan, Karim’s brother and a witness to the incident.



Adnan told The Express Tribune that four people armed with pistols had entered their house. One chased Karim to the first storey of the house and shot him in the chest. Adnan said he heard his brother cry out and reached the spot. He said he saw the assailant fleeing. He also saw three of his accomplices standing downstairs. They all simply walked away after killing Karim, said Adnan.

He alleged that Karim, 32, had been killed because of his religion. Local clerics had created a hostile environment for them, he said. Karim had also received several death threats, he said.

Green Town Station House Officer Sheikh Hammad told The Express Tribune that there may have been several motives for Karim’s murder. He said they had registered an FIR against unidentified suspects and started an investigation. He said Karim’s family had gone to Rabwa (Chenab Nagar) to bury him. Therefore they could not help the police trace the killers, he said. A formal investigation would be initiated once they returned, said Hammad.



The SHO said there could be several motives behind the murder, but he did not believe religion was one of them. If Karim was killed for being an Ahmadi, the killers would also have shot Adnan as he was there at the scene when Karim was shot, he said.

If the killers were religious extremists, they would have targetted Karim in a public area to create terror-not his house, said the SHO. Hammad suggested that the murder was likely motivated by a personal enmity, even though the family had said that Karim had no known enemies.

Karim is survived by his parents, a wife and two children. He ran a small clinic, Hussain Clinic, in the area. His wife, a doctor, looked after the clinic.

Jamaat-i-Ahmadia Pakistan spokesperson Saleemudin said Karim had been targetted because of his faith. He condemned the incident and said it had occurred as part of an on-going campaign against Ahmadis in Lahore. False FIRs were registered against Ahmadis, he said, and they were being targetted mercilessly. He said that the government had failed to protect the minorities and controlling the hate-campaign against Ahmadis.

Saleemudin said fatwas were regularly issued against Ahmadis in public meetings. Banners and stickers that incited hatred against Ahmadis were openly distributed and displayed. He appealed to the government to protect their lives and liberty.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>‘Blasphemous magazine’: FIR registered against Ahmadi owners</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/563349/blasphemous-magazine-fir-registered-against-ahmadi-owners</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/563349/blasphemous-magazine-fir-registered-against-ahmadi-owners#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 14 Jun 13 19:55:58 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=563349</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Lawyers and clerics say police were too soft on the Ahmadis.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Giving in to pressure of a United Khatam-i-Nabuwat led two-month long vigilante siege of an Ahmadi magazine office, police on Thursday registered an FIR against the magazine’s administration and confiscated all its records since 1952, The Express Tribune has learnt.

A large police contingent raided the office late on Thursday. They broke the locks and confiscated all the material in the absence of the magazine staff. More than 50 anti-Ahmadi clerics were present at the office at the time.

The police did not let the protesting clerics enter the office. However, several Ahmadis said the clerics had tried to plant blasphemous material in the office.

The complainant, Muhammad Yaqoob, had sought the registration of an FIR under Sections 298-C, 295 (B), 295 (C) and Section 11-W of the Anti Terrorism Act, the police however have registered an FIR under Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code only.



The complainant and other members of the Khatam-i-Nabuwat Lawyers Forum said they were not happy with the FIR. They called it ‘soft’ and demanded prosecution of the magazine’s administration under sections dealing with blasphemy and terrorism.

Yaqoob told The Express Tribune that they would use all legal options to ensure prosecution on blasphemy and anti-terrorism charges. “If the police don’t add the relevant sections to the FIR, we will move a court,” he said.

The FIR has been registered against the publisher of the weekly, The Lahore, Mian Muhammad Shah Jee; Editor, Yasir Zervi; Yasir Mansoor Ahmed and two others.

Yaqoob said that he had seen Zervi and two others circulating copies of the magazine on April 23.  He said he too was given a copy of the
magazine and had found blasphemous content in it.

Munawar Ali Shahid, an Ahmadi and a rights activist, told The Express Tribune that Poet Saqib Zervi had started the weekly in 1951. It was published every Friday, he said.

Zervi died in 2001 and his sons Yasir Zervi and Mansoor Zervi took over.

He said the magazine had been publishing social, cultural, political, economic and literary material, but had now fallen prey to
anti-Ahmadi elements.

Prosecuted under: 298-C of the PPC

Person of Quadiani group, etc, calling himself a Muslim or preaching or propagating his faith: Any person of the Quadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves ‘Ahmadis’ or by any other name), who directly or indirectly, poses himself as a Muslim, or calls, or refers to, his faith as Islam, or preaches or propagates his faith, or invites others to accept his faith, by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations, or in any manner whatsoever outrages the religious feelings of Muslims shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term

which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2013. ]]>
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			<title>Ahmadi-owned magazine’s office under siege</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/562923/ahmadi-owned-magazines-office-under-siege</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/562923/ahmadi-owned-magazines-office-under-siege#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 14 Jun 13 05:37:39 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=562923</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[At least 8 United Khatam-i-Nabuwat members patrol the area round-the-clock.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The vigilante siege of an office on Turner Road, where a weekly magazine owned by an Ahmadi family is produced, has not been lifted two months after it began, The Express Tribune has learnt.


Since the siege began, the circulation and publishing of the weekly, The Lahore, has stopped. The anti-Ahmadi activists have not only stopped the magazine’s administration from entering the office, located on the first floor of Galaxy Law Chambers, but also have not let them take away the printed material and furniture from the office.

The men patrol the spot round-the-clock so that nothing can be removed from the premises.

Jamaat-i-Ahmadia Pakistan spokesperson Saleemudin said the siege laid by a group of extremists was part of a campaign against Ahmadis. They had also lodged several false FIRs under the blasphemy law against Ahmadis, he said.

“They forced the magazine’s owners to leave the place and are now stealing their possessions from the office with the connivance of the police,” he said.

Saleemudin said they were trying to victimise the magazine staff for their religious beliefs.

He said they were pressuring the police to register an FIR against them. “Instead of providing them security, the police appear to be encouraging the extremists to continue the siege,” he said.

Muhammad Yaqoob, a member of the United Khatam-i-Nabuwat told The Express Tribune that they had laid siege to the office to “Get God’s blessings”. He said the magazine carried blasphemous content and should be banned. He said at least eight of their men remained at the office to prevent Ahmadis from entering the office and removing material from it. “We will remove it ourselves with help from the police after we manage to have an FIR registered against them under blasphemy laws,” he said.

He said an additional sessions judge had ordered the registration of an FIR, but the police were favouring the Ahmadis by not registering it.

He said a contempt of court petition had been moved before the Lahore High Court for the implementation of the court’s orders for the registration of an FIR.

According to Yaqoob’s application, he requested the police to register an FIR under Sections 298-C, 295 (B), 295 (C) and Section 11-W of the Anti Terrorism Act against magazine publisher Mian Muhammad Shah Jee, editor Yasir Zervi, Yasir Mansoor Ahmed and two others. He said that he had seen Yasir Zervi and two others circulating copies of the magazine on April 23. He said he too was given a copy of the magazine and had found blasphemous content in it.

He requested the police to seize everything in the office and seal it forever.

Munawar Ali Shahid, an Ahmadi and a rights activist, told The Express Tribune that Poet Saqib Zervi had started the weekly, The Lahore, in 1951. It was published every Friday, he said.

Zervi died in 2001 and his sons Yasir Zervi and Mansoor Zervi took over.

He said the magazine had been publishing social, cultural, political, economic and literary material for the last 62 years, but had now fallen prey to anti-Ahmadi elements.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Ahmedi community member killed in targeted attack</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/561932/sectarian-killing-ahmedi-community-member-killed-in-targeted-attack</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/561932/sectarian-killing-ahmedi-community-member-killed-in-targeted-attack#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 13 21:19:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=561932</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Unidentified men shoot Ahmedi man, his son and another companion multiple times before fleeing the scene.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A member of the Ahmedi community was shot dead while his son and another companion were injured in a targeted attack in Soldier Bazaar on Tuesday evening.


The victims were identified as Hamid Sami, 45, his son, Osama, 18, and a companion, Salman Zaman, 48. They were shot multiple times by unidentified men who escaped from the scene.

The police said Sami and Zaman were returning home. “A protest against load-shedding was being staged on MA Jinnah Road so they chose to take an alternative route,” DSP Zameer Abbasi told The Express Tribune. “Armed men on motorcycles, who had apparently been following the victims’ car, took advantage of the narrow streets and opened fire.” Police officials believe that the incident was a continuation of the targeted killings of Ahmedis. DSP Abbasi added Zaman was not an Ahmedi.

Separately, a Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi worker, Noman Iqbal, 33, was killed by unknown men in a targeted attack in Shah Faisal Colony.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Ahmadis disassociate from Pakistan elections</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/544772/ahmadis-disassociate-from-pakistan-elections</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/544772/ahmadis-disassociate-from-pakistan-elections#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 05 May 13 13:14:10 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=544772</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ahmadiyya spokesperson says separate voter list based on religion is worst form of discrimination.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya (JA) announced its disassociation from the Pakistan general elections 2013 on Sunday to protest the discrimination shown towards the community, ‘more than all other religious minorities’.

A separate voter list, specifically for Ahmadis on the basis of religious beliefs is outright discrimination and against the spirit of a joint electorate, JA spokesperson Saleemudin said in a press release.

According to the election rules the basic eligibility for a voter is Pakistani citizenship, not the religious or ideological beliefs a citizen holds, he observed. Despite this rule, in order to register to vote, Ahmadis have to provide their addresses, disassociate themselves from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) and appear on a separate list.

While there is meant to be a single voter list for all citizens, special orders were issued to prepare separate voter lists only for Ahmadis in the 2002 and 2008 general elections. For the 2013 general elections this was not changed.

This is the worst kind of discrimination, the press release stated, adding that such bigotry runs against the conventions on human rights that Pakistan has signed.

The JA spokesperson said he had written to the ECP to resolve this issue, but nothing had been done to address the community's grievances.]]>
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			<title>Viral video forces Imran Khan to clarify stance on Ahmadis</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/543510/viral-video-forces-imran-khan-to-clarify-stance-on-ahmadis</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/543510/viral-video-forces-imran-khan-to-clarify-stance-on-ahmadis#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 13 14:35:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=543510</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[“This is a political conspiracy against me as a person and PTI as a party,” says Khan.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday issued a statement saying that the “PTI totally subscribes to the article in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the Ahmadis. It is not part of the PTI agenda to seek amendment of the said article in the Constitution.”

The PTI Chairman was referring to article 260-3 of the Constitution that declares Ahmadis non-Muslims. Additionally, articles 298-B and 298-C prohibit Ahmadis from posing as Muslims, calling their faith Islam, proselytising, or "in any manner whatsoever" outraging the religious feelings of Muslims.

This clarification came in response to a video clip that surfaced on social media, showing a woman named Nadia Ramzan Chaudhry in a meeting with Mirza Masroor Ahmad, spiritual leader of the Ahmadi community, in UK. According to the video, Chaudhry especially asked for Ahmadi votes on behalf of the PTI.

Khan denied any links with the woman and said that it would be against the Representation of the People Act, 1976 and instructions of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ask for votes in this manner.

“This is a political conspiracy against me as a person and PTI as a party,” said Khan.

In the press release, he added that “Those Ulema who label me as ‘kafir’ and tell people that voting for PTI is ‘haram’ in their fatwas would have been better advised to follow the rules of giving fatwas and ascertained my belief before issuing the same.”

Khan also voiced his belief in the finality of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

In a video message by a visibly distraught Khan, he dismissed the allegations as propaganda. "If you say that when the PTI comes to power and will amend the 1973 constitution with regards to the Ahmedis, this is propaganda."

The PTI Chairman also claimed that one person was involved in the allegations against the party. "He is doing it on political basis and he once called me out on Jewish lobby allegations."

Correction: An earlier version of this article had referred to the spiritual leader of Ahmadi community as Mirza Masroor Qadiani, this has been changed to Mirza Masroor Ahmad.]]>
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			<title>Ahmadis still out of electoral process</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/538686/franchise-ahmadis-still-out-of-electoral-process</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/538686/franchise-ahmadis-still-out-of-electoral-process#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 13 19:40:13 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=538686</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The registration form requires them to identify themselves.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Ahmadiya community will not cast votes in the May 11 elections because of the “attitude of the State”, Jamaat-i-Ahmadiya Pakistan Spokesperson Saleemudin told The Express Tribune on Sunday.

Ahmadis are unable to register as Muslim voters. The election commission used the NADRA data to register Ahmadis in a separate roll. However Ahmadis say they will not avail their right to vote.

Saleemudin said there were up to 200,000 members of the community in the country. Every government, he said, has pandered to anti-Ahmadiya elements which was why Ahmadis had been unable to cast their votes.

“The separate voter list for Ahmadis published by the election commission contains our latest addresses...this exposes us to great risk,” Saleemudin said. Anyone can obtain these rolls, he said.

Ahmadis have dissociated themselves from elections for nearly four decades. “We do not have voting rights to any assembly or district. We don’t even have representation in the town council of Chenab Nagar where 95 per cent of the population is Ahmadi,” Saleemudin said.

Ahmadis had participated in elections from 1947 to 1977 when there was a single electorate.



Separate electorates were introduced in 1985 through the eighth amendment. Those who claimed to be Muslim now had to sign a ‘certificate of faith’ denouncing the Ahmadi faith. “Because the form compelled us to call ourselves non-Muslims we were effectively excluded from the voting process,” said Saleemudin.

Hope was raised during former president Pervaiz Musharaf’s regime after he announced a return to the joint electorate, he said. However, anti-Ahmadi elements protested against that in May 2002, forcing Musharaf to rescind his decision. On June 17, 2002, the government issued a separate list of voters in which Ahmadis were listed as non-Muslims. “That order...remains in force,” he said.

Saleemudin said many people had asked him why Ahmadis did not simply fill out the form and get themselves registered. “I tell them we would never disassociate ourselves from the Holy Prophet (pbuh) to get registered as voters,” he said.

In December 2007, several members of the Ahmadiya community wrote letters to the acting prime minister, the chief election commissioner and the president protesting the laws discriminating against their community. Saleemudin said no one had responded except the election commissioner’s office which said he was busy.

Saleemudin said a delegation of Ahmadis had met with Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim to convey their grievance, but the election would still be held under the same rules.

Saleemudin said the government should revise the rules and facilitate their participation through joint electorate that should bear no reference to religion. “We will continue boycotting the elections till our demand is met,” he said.

Touch stone

Form A for voter’s registration states that if a voter claims to be a Muslim, he or she must not be  associated with the Qadiani or Lahori Group nor call him or herself an Ahmadi

Published in The Express Tribune, April 22nd, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Minority rights: Few years after father’s murder, Ahmedi lawyer shot in Nawabshah</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/531751/minority-rights-few-years-after-fathers-murder-ahmedi-lawyer-shot-in-nawabshah</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/531751/minority-rights-few-years-after-fathers-murder-ahmedi-lawyer-shot-in-nawabshah#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 06 Apr 13 06:02:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rizwan.shehzad]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=531751</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Family believes the lawyer was shot due to his faith since he had no personal enmity.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Tragedy struck an Ahmedi family in Nawabshah once again when the son was shot at by an unidentified man only a few years after his father was killed.


The victim A*, who is a lawyer, was at his brother’s shop - taking a break from his morning work at the district courts - when a man walked up to him, opened fire and disappeared into the crowd. The incident took place at Liaquat Market Road on April 2, according to the victim’s cousin, K.

“I heard a gunshot and when I reached on the spot a few people were trying to take him to the hospital in a rickshaw,” the cousin recalled. “He might have been targeted because of his religious beliefs as he had no personal enmity.” Initially, A was rushed to Civil Hospital, Nawabshah, but was later moved to Karachi.

“The bullet pierced his liver and the doctors have removed the affected part in a surgery,” said MA Khan, a spokesperson for Ahmediya community, “The bleeding hasn’t stopped until now.” The doctors feel, however, that he is recovering.

K remembered the suspect was in his 30s with a beard and a scarf on his shoulder. He noticed the same man watching the shop and their house, located near the shop, closely a few days before the shooting took place.

“Since A survived, we know the attackers are just waiting for an opportunity to kill him,” feared K. “We’ll have to move him to an undisclosed location.”

The community’s spokesperson said that more and more people are leaving the area because of such incidents. “The administration does not take our problems seriously.”

Khan told The Express Tribune said that the police have yet to any take action besides demanding the victim’s statement. They haven’t arrested anyone or even seized the bullet casing from the crime scene, he added. “Why haven’t we been provided protection before when similar incidents have taken place,” he said, adding that at least seven Ahmedis have been killed in over a decade in Nawabshah alone.

The community members have little faith in the government. “This is the constituency of the president of Pakistan and we have been living in a constant state of fear,” said Khan. “We have yet to see the day when justice is served to our community but until then, at least give us our right to pray.” The Nawabshah Bar Association observed a strike to condemn the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2013. ]]>
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			<title>Kasur incident: No arrests so far in Ahmadi attack case</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/527613/kasur-incident-no-arrests-so-far-in-ahmadi-attack-case</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/527613/kasur-incident-no-arrests-so-far-in-ahmadi-attack-case#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 28 Mar 13 05:47:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=527613</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ahmadiyya community claims FIR lodged; police stays mum.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The police in Kasur is yet to make an arrest in connection with the attack on a local Ahmadi leader’s house and are instead requesting the Ahmadi community in the area to withdraw their complaint, The Express Tribune has learnt.


A mob in Shamasabad village of Kasur district attacked the house of Maqsood Ahmed Anjum and allegedly beat him and his family late Monday night. The incident happened following months of tensions between Ahmadi families and other residents of the village.

Local leaders of Ahmadiyya community have claimed that an FIR has been registered on their application against 20 accused persons. However, the police denied confirming the registration of a case.

Furthermore, it has been brought to light that the police are favouring the accused and have assured them that they could lodge a tit-for-tat FIR against the Ahmadis.

Sheikh Yousaf, chief of the Ahmadiyya community in Kasur, told The Express Tribune that on Anjum’s complaint, the police have registered FIR which nominates Naveed Akram, Abid Ali, Muhammad Boota and Anjum Baqar and others as accused.

Yousaf said that the police have not arrested any of the accused so far and have instead asked them to enter into a dialogue with the accused.

Zafar Malik, Anjum’s brother, told The Express Tribune that the accused have threatened him to withdraw their application.

On the other hand, Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Hammad Raza Qureshi said he was unaware of any such case. SHO Police Station Chunian Tariq Khan and DPO Kasur Sayyed Khurram Ali also declined to comment on the matter.

Malik Sarfaraz Ahmed, an elder from the accused party, told The Express Tribune that they were trying to negotiate with the Ahmadis, but the latter refused to acknowledge their request. He confirmed that the police have assured them of registering a counter FIR against the Ahmadiyya community in the area, claiming that Ahmadi youth were resorting to aggressive behavior among the village’s ‘peaceful’ people.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2013. ]]>
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			<title>Hate crime: Ahmadi leader attacked in Punjab village</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/527017/hate-crime-ahmadi-leader-attacked-in-punjab-village</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/527017/hate-crime-ahmadi-leader-attacked-in-punjab-village#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Mar 13 04:49:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=527017</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[For the past two months, villagers had socially alienated 14 Ahmadi families in the village.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Months after being shunned on religious differences, a local Ahmadi leader and his family were attacked by an unruly mob in a Punjab village – while the police looked on.

The incident took place in Shamasabad village of Kasur district late Monday night and came following two months of tensions between Ahmadi families and other residents of the village.

Locals, who declared ‘jihad’ on the village’s Ahmadi families, attacked local leader Maqsood Ahmed Anjum’s house; breaking down the doors and ransacking his property. They also roughed up residents of the house, including Anjum’s wife.

Outcasts

At the urging of the village’s clerics, locals are said to have been regularly rallying outside the house of the Ahmadi leader, chanting slogans  against his faith.

Moreover, for the past two months, villagers had socially alienated 14 Ahmadi families in the village, with doctors refusing to treat them, schools unwilling to admit their children, shopkeepers not selling them groceries, barbers denying them haircuts and neighbours refusing to acknowledge them.

Furthermore, as part of their ‘jihad’, residents also tampered with the electric supply of the Ahmadi residents and warned the families to renounce their faith.

To avoid any untoward incident, the police had also been deployed on the spot.

This, however, proved to be futile.

See no evil?

Although large contingents of police were present, none of them attempted to resist Monday’s attack. On the other hand, local police are trying to paint a different picture, insisting that the attack was a result of personal enmity.

Chunian Police Station SHO Malik Tariq told The Express Tribune that the Ahmadi leader, Anjum, had attacked a non-Ahmadi youth, following which the mob attacked his house.

the police official did admit that tension was brewing for the past two months and that the police was present at the time of the attack.

He also admitted that some religious clerics had incited  the hostility against the Ahmadi families in the area. Furthermore, he said a case had not been registered yet and the police would only do so once a complaint was registered.

‘Targeted’

Anjum, who is admitted at the Chunian Hospital, told The Express Tribune that he and his family were targeted as he is the head of the community in the area. He said they were warned by the villagers to leave either their faith or the area, where they had been living since before partition.

The community leader added that the locals had been, for quite some time, rallying outside his house and on Monday, they broke in. His wife, children and uncle sought refuge in a room at the back of the house, but the mob broke all the doors and dragged him out and subjected him to ‘severe torture’. Anjum alleged that his wife was also beaten up.

Officials react

Malik Sarfaraz, former chairman of the union council, while speaking to The Express Tribune confirmed that the Ahmadi families in villages had been socially boycotted.

In a press statement, Jamat-e-Ahmadia Pakistan spokesperson Saleemudin condemned the incident and termed it a result of an anti-Ahmadi campaign launched by some fanatics.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Clerics attack Ahmadi house, torture family in Punjab</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/526633/clerics-attack-ahmadi-house-torture-family-in-punjab</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/526633/clerics-attack-ahmadi-house-torture-family-in-punjab#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 13 11:04:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=526633</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Head of family shifted to hospital, in critical condition.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Local clerics attacked a house belonging to an Ahmadi family in the Kasur district of Punjab on Tuesday and subjected the family members to violence allegedly over their religious belief, The Express Tribune has learnt.

A mob led by a local cleric chanted slogans against Ahmadi families, their religious beliefs and their community before breaking into Mansoor’s* house in the Shamsabad area.

The five members of Mansoor’s family tried to take refuge in a room but the mob broke into the room as well.

Police personnel were reportedly present at the spot but did not take any action against the mob.

Mansoor was severely tortured after which he lost consciousness, while his wife and his 70-year-old uncle were also beaten.

Mansoor was shifted to a hospital where authorities claimed that he is in critical condition.

Sheikh Yousaf, Head of the Ahmadi community in Kasur, told The Express Tribune that he had repeatedly asked the DPO Kasur to establish a police check post in the area as they had been receiving threats since six months. He said that the DPO had agreed to his demands but the local MNA created hurdles in establishment of the check post.

He claimed that the police had deliberately left the Ahmadi family at the mercy of the mob, and the clerics who attacked that threatened the family to convert to their religion or face consequences.

The house was attacked when Mansoor refused to convert, Yousaf added.

*Name has been changed to protect identity]]>
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			<title>Civil Rights: Bail denied in Ahmadi literature case</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/506497/civil-rights-bail-denied-in-ahmadi-literature-case</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/506497/civil-rights-bail-denied-in-ahmadi-literature-case#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 12 Feb 13 23:22:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=506497</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Arrest warrants have also been issued for the press’s owner, who is at large.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[An additional district and sessions judge on Tuesday rejected an application for after-arrest bail by four men accused of publishing allegedly blasphemous books about the Ahmadi faith.


The judge remarked that the petitioners were found guilty in the investigation and that no previous enmity or grudge on the part of complainant or the police has been established.

The counsel for the petitioners had said they were innocent and had been wrongly implicated.

Advocate Chaudhry Ghulam Mustafa, the lawyer for the complainant, said that they were found in possession of blasphemous material.

Moeed Ayaz, Asmatullah, Razaullah and Ghulamullah, employees of Black Arrow Printing Press, were arrested on January 7 as they loaded a small truck with thousands of books and CDs.

They are all Ahmadis.

Arrest warrants have also been issued for the press’s owner, who is at large.

The accused are in jail.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Silence resonates after Ahmadi graves’ vandalised</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/477541/violation-of-minority-rights-silence-resonates-after-ahmadi-graves%e2%80%99-vandalised</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/477541/violation-of-minority-rights-silence-resonates-after-ahmadi-graves%e2%80%99-vandalised#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 10 Dec 12 06:16:07 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.mehmood]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=477541</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Community members decry authorities’ apathy towards attack.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Walls of the recently desecrated Model Town Ahmadi graveyard stand high, while an armed guard patrols the gate. On the very same road stands a Muslim graveyard with an open gate, low boundary walls and no armed guard on duty.


The beefed up security follows in the wake of fifteen masked men’s attack on the Ahmadi cemetery on December 3, when they razed tombstones of over a hundred graves.

Those whose loved ones were buried there are bewildered. The desecration of his mother’s grave has shaken Abid*. Her tombstone lay completely demolished. Abid’s question, “How can anyone even think that shattering a tombstone with Kalima engraved on it, is a service to Islam?” has been met with silence by the authorities.

Cycle of hatred

This is not the first time the Ahmadi community in Pakistan has been left with a sense of alienation. Nawaz Hashmi* has paid a price for his faith for three consecutive years: in 2010, he survived an attack at an Ahmadi place of worship in Lahore. In 2011, Hashmi, along with six other men, lost his job because he was an Ahmadi. And in 2012, his late father’s grave in the Model Town graveyard was razed.

“We are conditioned to live in fear,” says Hashmi. His sick mother had shed many tears after her husband’s last remains were violated.



“The chief justice is seen to take suo motu notices of the most trivial issues, then why the silence on the desecration of our graves?” asked   Imran Ali*, whose father’s grave was also demolished. “Even our neighbours did not hear of the assault owing to lack of coverage by the media.”

The authorities’ cold shoulder was a haunting déjà vu: no senior politician or government official had turned up at the site of the 2010 attack on an Ahmadi place of worship in Lahore.

On the contrary, the Punjab police itself removed Quranic texts from an Ahmadi graveyard in Faislabad, which they said was to avert clashes in the face of threats from extremist organisations.

The Ahmadi community administration in Lahore says that the absence of a violent reaction from its side should not be taken as a sign of defeat. The DIG Investigation of Lahore, Shafiq Gujjar, assures that the desecration of graves is a high priority case for them.

History of hatred

Shahid Ataullah, a senior administrator of the community in Lahore, says that violation of the rights of the community in urban Punjab could be traced back to 1974. Narrating an incident, Ataullah says, “In 1974, the then chief minister of Punjab Muhammad Hanif Ramay, called the head of Ahmadi community in Lahore and asked him to tell the community to not retaliate in the face of any violent attacks.”

No hope against hatred

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the incident of Lahore grave desecration, as did other human rights bodies. IA Rehman, Secretary General of HRCP, added to the commission’s official condemnation by saying that widespread incidents of intolerance towards religious minorities and different sects of Islam suggest that Pakistan does not do justice to its membership of the Human Rights Council.

*Names have been changed to protect identities

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>No Rest in Hell</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/477023/no-rest-in-hell</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/477023/no-rest-in-hell#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 08 Dec 12 17:20:54 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saroop.ijaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=477023</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Everybody has a stake in this quarrel. The Ahmadi graveyard vandalism and the Shia killing is everyone’s problem.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Towards the end of Hamlet, two gravediggers are engaged in an absurd discussion of whether Ophelia deserves a Christian burial or not, having committed suicide. However, they soon realise the futility of the conversation and move on to their job of digging the grave. One gravedigger asks, “What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright or the carpenter?” The fellow gravedigger replies, “The gallow-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.” The first after some musing ends saying, “A grave-maker. The house that he makes last till doomsday”. The gravedigger is wrong in Model Town, Lahore; not all graves last till doomsday. Some are vandalised earlier. We, unlike the jester gravediggers, have not realised the futility of discussing the legitimacy of burials yet. We today are worse, we attack graves.

Token outrage has been expressed and perhaps some more will be expressed. However, are we really outraged? I don’t think so. Being outraged in this country is becoming too exhausting a job. However, it does lower the spirit that this happened in Model Town, Lahore. Not only because it literally, physically happened in the backyard of the Chief Minister of Punjab’s palatial residence/s. It is also disheartening because this is the Lahore of Madhu Lal Husain. The great Sufi poet Shah Husain and his Hindu friend Madhu Lal are buried together in one shrine. Such is the oneness that not only the shrine but Shah Husain himself is now commonly referred to as Madhu Lal Husain. Shah Husain would not have survived a week in today’s Lahore. This is the Punjab of Baba Guru Nanak, where his birth anniversary is still celebrated by devout Muslims. To this day, Baba Nanak remains a saint (as he should be) to many of the faithful. This is the land where the Kalam of one of the greatest ‘Muslim’ Sufi poet of all times, Baba Farid, has reached us only through ‘Guru Granth Saheb’. I am not sure, how many of those who go to Baba Faird’s urs at Pakpattan know that.

One can go on — however, not convincingly. This is not their land, not anymore. This is where mediocre bureaucrats decide to mutilate the tombstone of our first and only Nobel laureate from, “Abdus Salam, the First Muslim Nobel Laureate” to the ridiculous, factually incorrect, “Abdus Salam, the First Nobel Laureate.” What great service to Islam. We seem today to be living in a Garcia Marquez novel. This is where Hazrat Bulleh Shah wrote such verses, which today, I cannot reproduce here, for the fear of some faithful interpreting it too literally and acting on his “faith”. Lahore today does not need the Taliban to burn down schools (although they are always there to help); we do quite an admirable job ourselves, as displayed recently. This is where historic temples are razed with no commotion. This is where having the wrong sounding name will get you killed. This is the Punjab where the leaders of banned sectarian outfits openly proclaim that the ruling party in Punjab won the by-elections with their support.

Now, let us consider our response to these challenges. We decide to ban YouTube because of one substandard, idiotic video made thousands of miles away. If a fraction of anger displayed at that one video is devoted to the vandalism of the dead and the murder of the living, only if. The Military Intelligence (MI) has apparently decided to do what it does best. What else, to collect detailed information on journalists. Sure, obviously they pose the greatest threat to our ‘national security’. Once the MI has successfully completed the dangerous mission of gathering door-to-door information on journalists, I am sure it will direct its attention to lesser matters like militant organisations, terrorist groups, etc. This is closely followed by ‘immoral’ text messages sent and received by ‘late-night’ cellular phone packages, the transcripts of which are being discussed at the highest state level. Then their other matters of grave concern like should it be mandatory for female television anchors to cover their heads. Lest we forget that egregious assault on the moral fabric of our society, i.e., the Katrina Kaif advertisement. The message is clear: the Shias, Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus should not be impatient. Once we have tackled the important issues stated above, we will be glad to attend to their continued murder and persecution.

While media oscillates between juvenile frolics of the PTA and Young Arsalan, it is open season on minorities and soon it will be for everyone. Ladies and Gentleman, this is how nations sink, this is how people die. Everybody has a stake in this quarrel. The Ahmadi graveyard vandalism and the Shia killing is everyone’s problem. I cannot propose a solution to all of this and am condemned to repeat clichés. Yet, this hate will get to everyone, to you and me, eventually it will.

‘Rest in peace’ will never mean quite the same thing in Lahore again. The attack on the graveyard in Lahore reminds me of some lines of Faiz Ahamd Faiz on death as a liberating experience, “Fikr-e-sood au ziyaan tau chhootay gi: Minnat-e-ee au aan tau chhootay gi. Khair dozakh mein mai milay na milay: Sheikh sahib se jaan tau chhootay gi.” (One will be rid of the anxiety of gain and loss, of seeking this and that. A drink in hell, there may not be, but one will be rid of sermon mongers). Not anymore, it seems.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Religious Persecution: FIR registered against desecration of tombstones</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/475232/religious-persecution-fir-registered-against-desecration-of-tombstones</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/475232/religious-persecution-fir-registered-against-desecration-of-tombstones#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 05 Dec 12 02:10:44 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=475232</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[FIR # 1096/12 was registered for trespassing on burial places, dacoity, criminal intimidation.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[An FIR was registered in the early hours of Tuesday against the vandalism of over 100 tombstones at an Ahmadi graveyard.


The FIR # 1096/12 was registered for trespassing on burial places, dacoity, criminal intimidation and trespassing for assault or wrongful restraint. Between 1:30am and 1:45am on Monday morning, 12 to 15 men carrying guns and digging tools entered the graveyard in Model Town, Q Block and smashed tombstones, according to witnesses. The vandals told the caretakers that Ahmadis, being non-Muslims, were not allowed to write the Kalma or Bismillah on their tombstones. The armed men tied up around 20 people – including visitors and families of the caretakers and the guard – and locked them up in the living quarters of the graveyard before desecrating the tombstones. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also condemned the incident and demanded the alleged vandals be brought to book.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2012. ]]>
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			<title>Unsafe even in death</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/475112/unsafe-even-in-death</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/475112/unsafe-even-in-death#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 04 Dec 12 18:33:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=475112</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Government must take action against those who desecrated the memories of the community’s deceased loved ones.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Dead or alive, the Ahmadi community of Pakistan has not been spared from discrimination and hate crimes in our country for decades. Another atrocity against the community occurred in Model Town, Lahore on December 3, in which over 100 gravestones of the deceased were destroyed. According to reports, the terrorists — admitting to being members of a banned organisation and the Taliban — arrived with weapons and excavation tools, wearing masks. After locking up guards and caretakers, they stormed graves and smashed gravestones, which, for some, possibly marked the last memorabilia of their deceased loved ones.

Conditions in our country are so poor that our government and law and order system cannot even let the graves of the dead be in peace. However, stuck in circumstances where the state cannot protect the people from terrorist threat when they are alive, the fact that the dead could not be protected is not shocking. Seemingly, this was a planned mission as eyewitnesses said the men were constantly on the phone informing callers that they had begun their mission. If our intelligence were more on its feet regarding potential terrorist activities, perhaps this incident and others could have been avoided. Details provided in the story about what the men’s accents were or what their appearances were do not matter. The point here is that no faith should be disrespected by anyone and that members of all faiths should be allowed to live freely without fear. No matter who the perpetrators were, they must be brought to trial. However, since the men were possibly members of the Taliban, this is not likely, highlighting the dangerous situation the nation is trapped in, helpless in the fight to root out and eradicate prejudice and terrorism in the country.

Disrespect to any religion or belief is unacceptable. We must learn to see one another as humans first, capable of loving and not just tolerating but respecting and appreciating one another for our differences. The government must take action against those who committed this terrible act and desecrated the memories of the community’s deceased loved ones.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>FIR registered against desecration of Ahmadi graves in Lahore</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/475020/fir-registered-against-desecration-of-ahmadi-graves-in-lahore</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/475020/fir-registered-against-desecration-of-ahmadi-graves-in-lahore#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 04 Dec 12 08:29:00 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.mehmood]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=475020</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Over 100 tombstones were desecrated at a graveyard of the Ahmadiyya community in an upscale neighbourhood of Lahore.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[An FIR was registered in the early hours of Tuesday against the vandalism of over 100 tombstones at an Ahmadi graveyard in Lahore.

The FIR # 1096/12 was registered on instances of trespassing on burial places, punishment for dacoity, mischief and criminial intimidation and trespassing for assault or wrongful restraint.

Earlier, around 12 to 15 men, carrying arms and digging tools, entered the graveyard in Model Town, Q Block, between 1:30am and 1:45am and smashed tombstones of the graves, according to witnesses.

The vandals told the caretakers that Ahmadis, being non-Muslims, were not allowed to write the Kalima or Bismillah on their tombstones.

The armed men tied around 20 people – including visitors and families of the caretakers and the guard – with ropes and locked them up in the living quarters of the graveyard before starting vandalism.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also condemned the incident and demanded the alleged vandals to be brought to book.]]>
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			<title>Religious intolerance: Ahmadi graves vandalised in posh Lahore neighbourhood</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/474914/religious-intolerance-ahmadi-graves-vandalised-in-posh-lahore-neighbourhood</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/474914/religious-intolerance-ahmadi-graves-vandalised-in-posh-lahore-neighbourhood#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 12 23:41:10 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.mehmood]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=474914</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[HRCP condemns the incident and demands that the alleged vandals to be brought to book.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Over 100 tombstones were vandalised by masked men at a graveyard of the Ahmadiyya community in an upscale neighbourhood of the city Monday morning.


Twelve to 15 men, carrying arms and digging tolls, entered the graveyard in Model Town, Q Block, between 1:30am and 1:45am and smashed tombstones of the graves, according to witnesses.

The vandals told the caretakers that Ahmadis, being non-Muslims, were not allowed to write the Kalima or Bismillah on their tombstones.

“I was about to take a nap when I heard someone jumping into the graveyard. As I stepped out to inquire, armed men pounced on me. They snatched my gun and roughed me up,” Muhammad Younis, a guard at the graveyard, told The Express Tribune.

The armed men tied around 20 people – including visitors and families of the caretakers and the guard – with ropes and locked them up in the living quarters of the graveyard before starting vandalism.

They were speaking Punjabi and Urdu. However, their “leader”, a long-haired and bearded man, had traces of Pashto in his accent, witnesses said. They told the caretakers and guards that they belonged to a banned organisation and the Taliban.

According to witnesses, the whole vandalism episode lasted for about 35 minutes. The vandals ran away when a policeman from the Ahmadiyya community and a guard at one of their worship places arrived and fired gunshots into the air. The community members said they would file a case.



Police, community versions 

Surprisingly, the SHO of Liaquatabad police station said he was not aware of any such incident. “I will send someone to look into this, when I get a call,” SHO Idrees Qureshi told The Express Tribune.

Ahmadiyya community spokesperson Saleemuddin said, “This is not some obscure village in Hafizabad, this is Lahore and the neighbourhood where the Sharif family lives. How is such an incident allowed to take place here?”

Background 

In July, 2012, Tufail Raza of the Khatme Nabuwwat Lawyers Forum had approached the Liaquatabad police station seeking removal of Islamic inscriptions from tombstones at the Ahmadi graveyard, which was established in 1980. The police did not follow up on the application, but allegedly began pressuring the community to remove the text.

In October, the additional district and sessions judge had  disposed of Raza’s petition, asking the police to act in accordance with the law.

HRCP condemns vandalism 

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), meanwhile, condemned the incident and demanded the alleged vandals to be brought to book.

“Last night’s attack is shocking because it did not occur in a remote village but in the heart of the country’s second largest city. The attackers’ success in overpowering several persons at the graveyard and completing the destruction in half an hour shows that the incident was well-planned,” it said in a statement.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Over 100 Ahmadi graves desecrated in Lahore</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/474468/over-100-ahmadi-graves-desecrated-in-lahore</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/474468/over-100-ahmadi-graves-desecrated-in-lahore#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 12 09:51:00 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.mehmood]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=474468</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Masked men hold caretaker, family hostage. Make call to inform that their 'mission' has started.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Over 100 tombstones were desecrated by unidentified men at an Ahmadi graveyard in the Model Town area of Lahore early Monday morning.

Eyewitnesses said 12 to 15 masked men, carrying weapons and excavation tools, had entered the graveyard in Model Town Q Block between 1:30am and 1:45am.

At least five of the men were reported to be carrying weapons, including 9mm pistols and a bigger gun.

The perpetrators removed and broke the tombstones of graves. They also told the caretakers that they were not supposed to write the Kalima or Bismillah on the tombstones because, “Ahmadis are infidels.”

“I was about to sleep for a while when I heard the sound of someone jumping inside the compound. When I was about to check who could be there, a number of men pounced on me, started beating me and took my gun,” said Muhammad Younis, a guard at the graveyard.

Younis told The Express Tribune that the attackers had a camera and took his picture after he was tied up. He said some of the attackers had climbed in from the rear wall of the graveyard and a few of them from the front.

The removal of tombstones began after everyone at the compound was tied up.

Around 20 people, including guests and families of the caretakers and guard, were locked up.

Three armed men stood guard outside the quarters where all caretakers were being kept.



On a mission?

Eyewitnesses who were locked in the quarters said they could hear that the attackers were receiving calls and were informing the person on the other line that they had started their mission.

The men were wearing black masks and were speaking Punjabi and Urdu. Their ‘leader’ had long hair, a beard and traces of Pashto in his accent.

They told the guard and others that they belonged to a banned organisation and the Taliban.

Younis only managed to make one phone call to the community’s head of security guards, Muhammad Asif. He was also locked up on arrival.

Eyewitnesses said the entire incident lasted for about 35 minutes. The perpetrators ran off in a hurry when a policeman, who is from the Ahmadi community and a guard at one of their worship places, arrived and fired in the air.

Asif said the attackers also took cell phones, wallets and money from three individuals.

No FIR was registered till the filing of this report, but members of the community said they will file one.

Community to take legal action

In July, 2012, Tufail Raza of the Khatme Nabuwat Lawyers Forum had approached the Liaquatabad Police Station in Lahore for the removal of Islamic inscriptions from tombstones at the graveyard. The graveyard had been established in 1980.

The police did not follow up on the application, but began pressurising the community to remove the text. In October, the Additional Sessions Judge of the Lahore Session Court had asked the police to act according to the law and had disposed of Tufail Raza’s petition.

Idrees Qureshi, the SHO of Liaquatabad Police Station, told The Express Tribune that the court order and application was with DSP Legal for his opinion on how to tackle the issue.

Qureshi said that more than 30 individuals from the Khatme Nabuwat organisation had visited the police station at least three times to ask for the removal of the tombstones.

When the SHO was contacted by The Express Tribune at 11:51am, he was not aware of the desecration incident. “I will send someone to look into this, when I get a call,” he had said.

Ahmed Munir, a member of the Ahmadi community who has been liaisoning with the police over the issue since July, said, “We cannot remove the Kalima ourselves, because it is against our faith, but we requested the police to look at the law and not interpret it the way the anti-Ahmadi elements asked them too.”

Saleemud Din, spokesperson of the Ahmadi community in Pakistan, had a question for the authorities, “this is not some obscure village in Hafizabad, this is Lahore and the neighborhood where the Sharif family lives, how is such an incident allowed to take place here?”

The community says they will take legal action against those who attacked the graveyard.]]>
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			<title>UK doctors remove bullet from Pakistani Ahmadi shot in the eye: Report</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/461633/uk-doctors-remove-bullet-from-pakistani-ahmadi-shot-in-the-eye</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/461633/uk-doctors-remove-bullet-from-pakistani-ahmadi-shot-in-the-eye#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 06 Nov 12 12:19:23 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=461633</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ummad Farooqi was shot during an ambush at his brother's wedding in Karachi.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in UK successfully removed a bullet from the nose of a 22-year-old Pakistani Ahmadi who was shot in the eye earlier during an ambush at his brother’s wedding, reported Daily Mail on Tuesday.

Leading ear, nose and throat consultant Shahzada Ahmed removed the  bullet from Ummad Farooq on Sunday using a Cyclops – a new instrument that enables surgeon to see better and carry out operations quicker. The one-hour long operation saved Farooq’s eyesight.

Thanking the doctor who performed the surgery, Farooq said that doctors in Pakistan had said that the surgery was too risky so he came to the UK for treatment. “When I came here the bullet was still lodged just under my right eye causing double vision. But after surgery on Sunday I am seeing things much clearer now,” he told Daily Mail.

Farooq was studying finance at Sunderland University and flew back to Karachi for his brother Saad’s wedding. An ambush on family members at the wedding on October 19 left Saad dead while their father was hit by six bullets but survived.

Explaining the reason behind the ambush, Farooq said that his father was the president of the Ahmadi community in Karachi.

“My father still has five bullets lodged inside him, but is not in a critical condition. We were all moved to a safe house, and my community decided to fund my treatment in the UK,” he added.

Consultant Ahmed said that he had never used the Cyclops in this way and it was unique to remove a bullet through the nose. However, leaving the bullet inside indicated a possibility of Ummad going blind or the area becoming infected, he added.]]>
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			<title>As death toll mounts, Ahmadis fight back – with letters</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/459601/as-death-toll-mounts-ahmadis-fight-back-%e2%80%93-with-letters</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/459601/as-death-toll-mounts-ahmadis-fight-back-%e2%80%93-with-letters#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 02 Nov 12 05:33:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=459601</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Community writes to president, prime minister; bemoans lack of action against culprits.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[During a recent Supreme Court hearing in Karachi that was examining the progress made on its 2011 verdict on violence in the city, a police officer attempted to explain why over a dozen people had died the day before the hearing. “And this person was a Qadiani,” he said, referring to a victim.


There was no further explanation.

Nine Ahmadis have been killed in Karachi since January, a marked increase from recent years. The Ahmadiyya Jamaat has now written to government officials, including the president, prime minister, inspector-general of the Sindh police and the director general of the Rangers in Sindh, calling on them to take action against those responsible. The community believes that Ahmadis have been targeted for their faith.

The letter, authored by the community’s spokesperson and dated October 25, states:

“As I write to you, nine Ahmadis have lost their lives only in Karachi in recent past as a direct result of hate campaign and target killing because of their faith.”

“The signs and tactics of these attacks are the same and yet I regret to say that there has been no progress in apprehending the culprits. I am not alone in believing that we have been left by the state at the mercy of militants and miscreants who are thirsty for Ahmadi blood and there is little that is being done to provide Ahmadis security.”

The letter also tries to put these attacks in perspective. “The bigger and wider issue is increasing presence of hate filled material or wall chalking in the area that provides an open invitation to any miscreant to take matters into his hands,” it states.

It calls on the recipients to “take action and fulfill your duty to protect the life and property of all citizens without discrimination.”

Calls and messages to Sindh IG Police Fayyaz Leghari, Additional IG Iqbal Mehmood and the Sindh Additional Home Secretary Waseem Ahmed went unanswered. Waqar Mehdi, the adviser to the Sindh chief minister, said he had no knowledge of a letter being received. “If this is the case [that they have sent a letter] then they should send a copy to me and I’ll have a look at it,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Target killing: Two Ahmadis shot dead in same locality</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/456206/target-killing-two-ahmadis-shot-dead-in-same-locality</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/456206/target-killing-two-ahmadis-shot-dead-in-same-locality#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 24 Oct 12 13:11:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=456206</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Two members of Ahmadi community, homeopath doctor and general store owner were gunned down in two separate incidents.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Two members of the Ahmadi community, a homeopath doctor and a general store owner were gunned down in two separate incidents of target killing in Baldia Town late on Tuesday night.

The first incident took place when at least two armed men riding a motorcycle entered the homeopathic clinic of Abdul Hamid, 44, and opened fire on him killing him instantly, SHO Gulshan Junejo said.

A little after this, another man belonging to the Ahmadi community, Basheer Ahmad, 72, was gunned down when two armed riders opened indiscriminate fire inside his general store. SHO Junejo said that apparently, the same culprits were behind both incidents.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Twice cursed: Trials of being labelled an Ahmadi and a blasphemer</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/448710/twice-cursed-trials-of-being-labelled-an-ahmedi-and-a-blasphemer</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/448710/twice-cursed-trials-of-being-labelled-an-ahmedi-and-a-blasphemer#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 09 Oct 12 08:25:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.mehmood]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=448710</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Despit­e being acquit­ted in a blasph­emy case, Irshad’s* life is that of a fugiti­ve.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[In year 2010, Mian Irshad* was acquitted in a blasphemy case by the Lahore High Court. Despite the court order, Irshad’s life has resembled that of a fugitive since then.

In 2004, Irshad – who had accepted the Ahmadi faith a few years back - was taken to a local cleric in his village in central Punjab by his father. Irshad’s father wanted him to revert back to Islam. The cleric tried to persuade him but to no avail. On Irshad’s refusal, the cleric then nominated him in a case under section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Irshad tried to evade the police for a while but was told by his community elders to present himself before the authorities and fight a legal battle.

Life in prison 

Leaving behind a wife and a toddler with the same family which ostracized him for converting, Irshad moved from one jail to another. Eventually, he requested the court to put him in a prison with better security because the militants in some prisons posed a threat to him.

He was then moved to a central jail, which had many criminals and terrorists but also enough security to keep Irshad and other blasphemy convicts safe.

During his confinement, Irshad said he avoided confrontation with prisoners who provoked him – many of whom were militants.

“[Blasphemy accused avoid feuds] because very cruel methods of beating were used, for instance hot oil was poured over people during fights; I escaped such beatings by keeping myself busy with chores, reading or staying with other blasphemy accused men.”

After six difficult years in prison, Irshad was proved innocent with the help of human rights organisations and the support of the Ahmadi community. The community helps its members through litigation when they are accused of blasphemy or charged under the Anti-Ahmadi Ordinance XX 1984 of the PPC.

Irshad is one of the 299 Ahmadi individuals who have been accused of blasphemy since April 1984, as per the data compiled by the Ahmadi community.

Family of the accused

Away from her husband, Irshad’s wife was living at the mercy of the relatives and villagers. Irshad's wife Jamila* said the family members and villagers did not treat her “like a human”. Eventually she was taken in by her parents till the time of her husband’s release.

“People only paid heed to what the cleric said, despite the fact that we had lived together in that village for years.”

Life beyond prison

Since Irshad’s acquittal, he has not stepped outside the town where he now lives. He supports his wife and two sons only through menial jobs because of a fatwa against him which bars him from working elsewhere.

Irshad’s case is a peculiar one as he is not just any non-Muslim falsely accused of blasphemy but an Ahmadi. He said that the only way he can support his family in a better way is by leaving Pakistan.

The Ahmadi community in Pakistan is not merely persecuted as a religious minority but is openly targeted across Pakistan. And in the current situation, where blasphemy accused or suspects are lynched openly, different incidents show that a blasphemy accused of the Ahmadi faith can either live a secret hidden life or leave the country.

“This kind of hatred will destroy not only the targeted community but it will destroy Pakistan,” said the Human Rights Commission Pakistan (HRCP) Secretary General IA Rehman. He added that the appeasement and fear of the state will haunt them and if they think that the extremist elements will not find them, then they are wrong.

*The name of the interviewees have been changed to protect their identities.]]>
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			<title>Over to police: Plea against Ahmedi graves disposed of</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/446504/over-to-police-plea-against-ahmedi-graves-disposed-of</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/446504/over-to-police-plea-against-ahmedi-graves-disposed-of#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 03 Oct 12 21:44:19 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=446504</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Petitioner directed to approach police station concerned.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[An additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) on Wednesday disposed of a petition seeking a case against the administration of an Ahmedi graveyard and the families of those buried there over the inscription of Quranic verses and the Kalma on some graves.


ADSJ Malik Tariq Mehmood Zargham directed petitioner Tufail Raza to approach the police station concerned and record his statement with the station house officer (SHO).

Raza said in the petition that he had seen the inscriptions on the graves when he passed through the graveyard in Liaqatabad on July 13.

He said that the Ahmedi community had been declared non-Muslims via Article 260(3)(a) and (b), while Section 298(c) of the Pakistan Penal Code provided for a prison term for Ahmedis who “directly or indirectly, pose as Muslims”. Raza said that he had visited the police station concerned to lodge a case against the families of those buried in graves which had Quranic verses inscribed on them, but the SHO did not listen to him. He asked the court to direct the SHO to register a case against the families and the administration of the graveyard. The court directed the petitioner to approach the SHO, who would record his statement and proceed in according with the law.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Ahmadi shopkeeper gunned down</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/437786/ahmadi-shopkeeper-gunned-down</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/437786/ahmadi-shopkeeper-gunned-down#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 17 Sep 12 01:46:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=437786</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Third member of the community to be targeted in the last 10 days.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[With the country torn apart by religious extremism and intolerance, the metropolitan city is also witnessing a rise in hate crimes against minorities. In the latest incident, a 23-year-old Ahmadi shopkeeper, Muhammad Ahmad, was gunned down in Gulistan-e-Jauhar late Saturday night.

Within a span of 10 days, at least three Ahmadis have reportedly been shot dead in the city. The youngster was the sixth Ahmadiyya community member to be gunned down in the metropolis this year allegedly because of his faith.

Ahmad and his 45-year-old brother-in-law Shams Fakhri were returning home after closing their general store when two armed attackers sprayed them with bullets. While Ahmad died on the spot, Fakhri was hit by five bullets. He is battling for his life at a private hospital.

The family was frequently called “Kafir” (non-Muslim) by people in the neighbourhood, according to Ahmad’s elder brother Umair. But he had never thought that his youngest brother may be killed one day. “There is no doubt that my brother was killed because of his faith,” Umair told The Express Tribune. “We had no personal enmity with anyone.”

“I was locking the gate of the store from one side after Ahmad had shut the store from the other side. Minutes later, I heard gunshots and people informed me that Ahmad had been shot,” he said. Although the police were standing nearby when his brother was attacked, they did not do anything, Umair said. “Instead of saving my brother, they ran away.”

All seven brothers, including Ahmad, ran the general store located just a few blocks away from their house in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.

For a while now, clerics at a certain mosque in the area have been delivering hateful sermons against the Ahmadi community, Umair alleged.

The first such incident this month took place on September 7 when a 36-year-old government school teacher, Abdul Ghaffar, was gunned down in Chakiwara, Lyari while on his way home. On September 12, an Ahmadi police constable, Muhammad Nawaz, was targeted in Orangi Town.

The police have failed to arrest any criminal involved in such attacks, said Masood Ahmad, a senior Ahmadiyya community member. “In Orangi Town, our houses are being pelted with rocks. In Gulistan-e-Jauher, anti-Ahmadi pamphlets are being distributed and in Baldia Town, roadside graffiti calling us non-Muslims has come up.”

The recent killings have sowed fear among the Ahmadis in Karachi, who have restricted their movements or take different routes when going out. “The criminals want to hurt the community financially,” said Masood Ahmad. Condemning the incident, the spokesperson for the Jama’at Ahmadiyya Pakistan, Saleemuddin, urged the law enforcement agencies to investigate the attack.

“The community has as much the right to live in this country as the other communities,” he said. “Ahmad was killed at an age when he should have been serving the country.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Khatme Nabuwat Conference calls for restrictions on Ahmadi community</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/434302/khatme-nabuwat-conference-calls-for-restrictions-on-ahmadi-community</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/434302/khatme-nabuwat-conference-calls-for-restrictions-on-ahmadi-community#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 10 Sep 12 14:14:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rana.tanveer]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=434302</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Conference claims Mumtaz Qadri committed no offence by killing Salman Taseer and should be released.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Khatme Nabuwat Conference ended here on Monday with speakers calling for various measures against the members of the Ahmadi community.

A resolution, proposed by Justice(r) Nazeer Ahmed - member of Islamic Ideology Council, was passed during the Tajdar Khatame Nabuwat Conference, organised by Fidayane Khatame Nabuwat at Aiwan-e-Iqbal on Monday.

The participants of the conference also stated that Malik Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed killer of former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, has not committed any offence by killing him and should be released.

Demanding amendments in the country’s laws, the participants said that the religious activities of the Ahmadi community should be banned in Pakistan and their social activities should be monitored.

The attendees further demanded that Ahmadis should be treated as non-Muslims not only in Pakistan but also in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Those who attended the conference include Ruet-e-Hilal committee chairman Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, MNA Haji Fazal Karim, MNA Captain Safdar, Maulana Syed Irfan Mashhadi, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, Akhtar, Sarwat Ijaz Qadri, Shah Ahmed Awais Norani, Pir Muhammad Afzal Qadri, Dr Raghib Naeemi, Mumtaz Qadri’s father Malik Bashir and his brother Dilpazir Ahmed.]]>
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			<title>Ex-income tax commissioner shot</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/432683/ex-income-tax-commissioner-shot</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/432683/ex-income-tax-commissioner-shot#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 06 Sep 12 21:25:45 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=432683</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[An Ahmadi school teacher among six people killed.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[At 8:50am on Thursday morning, Mumtaz Sheikh’s family heard gunshots outside their house in DHA Phase IV. Little did they know that Sheikh, 66, who had just stepped out for work, was dead.

Sheikh, a former income tax commissioner and member of the local government revenue department, was in a black Toyota Corolla with his driver when four men in a gray Cuore drove up to the car, held the driver at gunpoint and opened fire at Sheikh, said the Gizri police.

According to SHO Ismail Lashari, the driver had told him that the suspects were parked 50-feet from the house. Initial investigation and statements suggests that the suspects wore shalwar kameez and were carrying Kalashnikovs. The SHO said that the driver was safe, but in shock at what had happened.

An investigation team is being led by District South SSP Asif Ejaz was formed with Clifton SP Ashfaq Alam, DSP Sheraz Asghar Sheikh and SHO Ismail Lashari on board.

When contacted by The Express Tribune, SP Alam refused to comment. He said that although they had a couple of leads, they were too busy investigating the case and could not share details.

Investigators suggest that they found three Kalashnikov bullet shells at the scene of crime and had sent them to the forensics department.

SHO Lashari said that Mumtaz Sheikh was shot four times, including the neck and chest. “We found out about this incident very late,” he said. “When the family found the body, they brought it inside and then took it to PNS Shifa Hospital. By the time we found out and got to the crime scene, all we found were the empty bullet shells.” He added that Sheikh’s family was not cooperating with the police and were busy making arrangements for the funeral.

DSP Sheraz said that the police had asked the family to give them the CCTV footage to help with the investigation. Sheikh and his neighbours had installed CCTV cameras in the area. He refused to comment if Sheikh was killed in a sectarian attack.

In an unrelated incident, a Muttahida Qaumi Movement activist identified as 28-year-old Irfan Ahmed was shot dead on Wednesday, said the Napier Road police. He was taken to Civil Hospital, Karachi. SHO Imdad Khawaja said that Ahmed was shot twice by two unidentified men on a motorcycle.

A man identified as 24-year-old Omair was killed while two of his friends, Najam and Khizar Hayat, were injured on their way home after collecting the admission form for Jinnah Polytechnic College, said the North Nazimabad police. SHO Saleem Naz said that three men on two motorcycles on the three men. In Sultanabad, a man identified as 38-year-old Iqbal was shot dead near his house, said the Manghopir police. They claim that Iqbal was on his way out when unidentified men opened fire at him. The body was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Two people were also shot dead in Orangi Town.

Ahmadi school teacher gunned down

Thirty-six-year-old Abdul Ghaffar, a government school teacher and resident of Saeedabad, was gunned down in Lyari, said the Chakiwara police. He was taken to Civil Hospital, Karachi. They said that Ghaffar, an Ahmadi, was shot dead on his way home from work by two men on a motorcycle. According to a spokesperson from the Ahmadi community, Ghaffar was the father of four children and had worked at the school for 15 years. “It was a targeted attack,” he said while talking to The Express Tribune. “We have told all our community members to be careful but no precaution seems to be enough.” He added that this was this was the second time such an incident had taken place in two months.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Ahmadis in Rawalpindi had no place to offer Eid prayers: Spokesperson</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/424770/ahmadis-in-rawalpindi-had-no-place-to-offer-eid-prayers-spokesperson</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/424770/ahmadis-in-rawalpindi-had-no-place-to-offer-eid-prayers-spokesperson#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 12 13:34:29 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=424770</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ahmadis say they were barred by senior district officials to offer Eid prayers at their main place of worship.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Ahmadis living in Rawalpindi were not allowed to offer Eid prayers on August 20 at their main place of worship, Ewan e Tawheed, said a press release on Wednesday.

The spokesperson of Jama’at Ahmadiyya Pakistan, Saleemuddin, said that “the government and local administration has violated Article 20 of the Constitution after stopping Ahmadis from congregating for Eid prayers. The Article 20 ensures every citizen to freely perform religious duties.”

Saleemuddin, in the press release, stressed that the Ahmadis would never compromise or accept any pressure on their fundamental right to worship.

“This is not only a denial of religious freedom but is also depriving the Ahmadis of an annual ritual where worship goes with social activity,” the press release added.

According to a tweet by Saleemuddin, the order to stop Ahmadis from praying at their place of worship was issued by senior district officials.]]>
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			<title>Islamic text removed from Ahmadi's shop, home in Sheikhupura</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/424516/religious-text-removed-from-ahmadis-shop-home-in-sheikhupura</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/424516/religious-text-removed-from-ahmadis-shop-home-in-sheikhupura#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 19 Aug 12 20:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.mehmood]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=424516</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Almi Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat members, police committed the act. Police says took steps to maintain peace.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Members of an Islamic organisation removed Quranic texts and religious words from the shop of an Ahmadi family in Kot Abdul Malik, Sheikhupura, on August 14 with the help of local police.

Factory Area Police had gone to Qamar Zia's mobile shop with members of an Islamic organisation, Almi Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat and removed two lines of Quranic texts and the word Mash’Allah from outside the shop and inside as well.

His father’s name “Muhammad Ali” inscribed on the gate of the residence, next to Zia’s shop, was also removed with the help of welding equipment and then painted over.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Zia said, “I kept on saying that this is my father’s name and not a religious expression, and it can be verified from his identification card, but they did not pay heed to my request.”

Zia added that after committing the act, a mob of residents and members of the Almi Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat, congregated outside the house and spoke against Ahmadis. The police then dispersed the mob.

Zia, a 35 year old cell shop owner who has lived in the Muhalla Roshan Abad, Scheme number 3, Kot Abdul Malik since he was three year old, said that at the beginning of August, three young men from the aforementioned organisation came outside his shop and began taking pictures. When Zia asked them to stop, the men abused him, saying, “You have no right to put this text up.”

On August 6, Zia submitted an application in the Factory Area Police Station, to complain against the harassment, but the police did not take notice of his protest.

However on August 7, the organisation’s men went to the police station and filed an application for registering an FIR against Zia, to charge him under section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, after which the police invited both parties to the police station on August 10 to resolve the matter.

According to Zia, at the meeting, when he was asked to remove the religious texts from the shop, he refused, saying that the law can decide whatever steps it wants to take, but he would not commit the disrespectful act.

Zia claims that the police officer had cautioned him that he would be killed if he did not comply.

“Son, even if the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat men kill you, I will not be able to do anything,” the officer had said.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Dr Abdul Kursheed, one of the members of the Majlis said, “The Ahmadi man violated the law, and we will report them again if they repeat this act, and unlike this recent incident the police will take action, not us.”

Similar to recent incidents, wherein Ahmadis were accused of “posing as Muslims”, in this case too, police officials said the steps were taken to "maintain peace."

SHO Factory Area Police, Sami-Ullah Khan told The Express tribune, “We took all measures to resolve the issue, we did not want unrest. Anyone can take guidance from the Holy Book.”

Khan added that, “we sent our personnel because people were gathered at the spot, and we did not want any untoward incident.”

Zia said that, “there was no way for us, but to give in to the law.”

He added that he did not send his children to school after the incident on August 14, out of fear, and said that he had heard rumors that the Majlis men were involved in campaigning against his business as well.

Almi Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat is known to campaign against Ahmadi business men and in promoting social boycott against the community through lectures, conferences and literature in form of stickers, banners and posters.

Zia said that such polarization had only increased in his area in the last couple of years.

In Punjab, persecution of Ahmadi citizens has been on the rise in 2012, including desecration of their places of worship.

Country spokesperson for the Ahmadi community, told The Express Tribune, “We send monthly updates to the Presidency, PM house, interior ministry, ministry of religious affairs, ministry of human rights and respective provincial governments, but have hardly ever received even an acknowledgment of our correspondence.”

On the role of the police, the spokesperson added that, “Kot Abdul Malik is next to Lahore, this is not Waziristan that the police could not control the cleric without giving into their pressure,” adding, “In a country, where our dead are not spared, how will we protect our living.”]]>
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			<title>Avoiding clash in faisalabad: Police whitewash Quranic verses from Ahmadi graves</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/424061/avoiding-clash-in-faisalabad-police-whitewash-quranic-verses-from-ahmadi-graves</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/424061/avoiding-clash-in-faisalabad-police-whitewash-quranic-verses-from-ahmadi-graves#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 19 Aug 12 05:37:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[shamsul.islam]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=424061</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Police defend, Ahmadiyya community condemns the action.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[On the demand of a banned outfit, Quranic verses and religious texts were forcibly removed from tablets on Ahmadi graves on Friday night in a cemetery in Mangat Ucha village, around seven kilometres from Hafizabad.


Around 650 Ahmadis reside in the village, mostly from pre-partition days. Before Ahmadis were declared non-Muslims in 1974, their community as well members outside the community used to bury their dead in this graveyard without any discrimination on the basis of faith. Thereafter, the graveyard was divided into two parts for burial on the basis of faith.

Earlier this week, however, an application was moved to the Kassoki police station in the area, which claimed that villagers were against the use of Quranic verses and religious texts on grave tablets.

“This action by Ahmadis creates religious anarchy, undermines faith and also aggravates emotions.  Ahmadis cannot use Quranic verses as per Muslim faith,” the application stated.

The application further demanded that police remove all such tablets in order to prevent a clash between the Ahmadi community and others.

The Hafizabad DPO then asked Kassoki police station SHO Aslam Kharal to take ‘appropriate steps’ in order to avoid any untoward incident. The SHO summoned elders and notables of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat in the village, who met him under the supervision of the acting Ameer of the Hafizabad Ahmadiyya Jamaat, Nasir Javaid.

Kharal, according to Javaid, asked the community to remove the Quranic verses and also made it clear that if they did not do so, the police itself would take measures to remove them to ‘in order to maintain peace’ in the area.

“I frankly told the Kassoki SHO during the meeting that we do not believe as per our faith to commit blasphemy or desecrate Quranic verses and we will not remove the tablets inscribed with Quranic verses ... We also told the police that if any civilian or villager or religious leader made an attempt to remove the tablets from our graves, we will resist with full force come what may,” Nasir said.

He added that eventually, on Friday, a police party headed by Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Muhammad Akram entered the graveyard and whitewashed all tablets with Quranic verses on them.

When contacted, Kharal admitted, “The Quranic verses were whitewashed by the police under the supervision of the ASI without any resistance and no one from either side was allowed to join this operation.”

“The entire exercise was conducted to save the locality from a clash and we achieved this target without any resistance,” the SHO said, adding that this was a ‘positive achievement’ for the police.

DSP Tariq Warraich also justified the police action, saying, “It is part of police duty to resolve all issues which may lead to a clash on a sensitive issue.”

On the other hand, Secretary Amoor-e-Aama, Ahmadiyya Jamaat Faisalabad, Syed Mahmood Ahmad Shah, criticised the ‘defiling’ of the graves.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2012. ]]>
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			<title>Police remove Quranic verses from Ahmadi graves to 'avert clashes'</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/423802/police-remove-quranic-verses-from-ahmadi-graves-to-avert-clashes</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/423802/police-remove-quranic-verses-from-ahmadi-graves-to-avert-clashes#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 Aug 12 10:53:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[shamsul.islam]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=423802</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Applicants had threatened of religious clashes if Quranic verses, texts were not removed from Ahmadi graves.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A heavy police contingent on Friday, on the demand of a banned organisation, removed Quranic verses and religious texts written on tombstones of Ahmadi graves to save the area from clashes on religious grounds.

An application was moved to the area police of Uncha Mangat claiming Kassoki villagers’ demands of the removal of Quranic verses and religious text from Ahmadi graves in the graveyard on Hafizabad-Sheikhupura Road.

The applicants threatened of religious clashes and bloodshed if this was not done.

The DPO Hafizabad asked the police station in charge to take appropriate steps for averting any untoward incident or clash on religious basis.

The local SHO summoned elders and notables of the Ahmadi community of the village who met him under the supervision of Nasir Javaid, acting Ameer Jamaat Ahmadiyya, Hafizabad.

The SHO, according to Nasir Javaid, asked them to remove religious inscriptions, adding that if they did not do so themselves, the police would take measures for removing them in order to maintain peace and tranquillity in the area.

When they disagreed, says Nasir, the police went on with the operation anyway and forcefully entered the graveyard and whitewashed all religious text from the graves late Friday.

Calling it a positive achievement, the SHO claimed that no case had been filed against the act as it was meant to save the locality from clashes.

Secretary Amoor-e-Aama, Jamaat Ahmadiyya Faisalabad, Syed Mahmood Ahmad Shah, however, criticized the action and said that the persecution of Ahmadis was wrong and may lead to increased hatred between the two communities.

He demanded that the government take appropriate steps to save the Ahmadi community from such “unjustified and cruel acts of other communities”.

There are about 150 Ahmadi graves located in the graveyard while about 35 graves of Muslims are also found there.

Prior to declaring the Ahmadis a minority in 1974, Muslims used to bury their dead in this graveyard. Later, the graveyard was demarcated into two parts for burying Muslims and Ahmadis separately.]]>
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			<title>The Condemned: A documentary on Ahmadi persecution</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/419718/the-condemned-a-documentary-on-ahmadi-persecution</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/419718/the-condemned-a-documentary-on-ahmadi-persecution#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 12 14:41:44 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.mehmood]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=419718</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Capturing the persecution faced by the minority Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan - from their eyes.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[‘The condemned’ is an endeavor to capture the persecution faced by the minority Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan - from their eyes.

The short documentary is a collection of testimonies in which those Ahmadis who have faced persecution narrate the target killings of loved ones, discrimination at the hands of fellow students and what it is like to live in jail as a blasphemy convict.

A town called Rabwah

Rabwah, is a town of District Jhang with the highest population of Ahmadis in Pakistan. The town is also home to some who have been convicted of blasphemy and under the anti-Ahmadi Ordinance of 1984, making them prisoners in this town.

A major chunk of the report was filmed in Rabwah and identities of some community members have been hidden for the sake of their security. The young man who shares the story of the horrors his family faced after his brother was accused of blasphemy has now left Pakistan. Therefore, we took the risk of showing his face on-camera. The town still provides a sense of security for the rest, so the condemned could speak with hidden faces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJndACY6QV0

Terror and truth

“Is she sure she will be able to run the interviews? What about the censorship, what about the backlash?”

These were the questions asked when this scribe approached the Ahmadi community members for the video report on their plight. Such concerns arose as a consequence of their experience with the mainstream Urdu press, who finally dared to address the Ahmadi debate after the May 28, 2010 bombings at two Ahmadi places of worship in Lahore. Unfortunately, the Urdu press continued its precedent of not covering the faith-based target killings of Ahmadis, not raising the question of discrimination faced by this community, and continuing to cover events by different religious organizations that are openly anti-Ahmadi.

However, the regular coverage of Ahmadi persecution and threat to the lives of community members by leading English publications eventually opened space to allow video documentation of the persecution of this minority group.]]>
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			<title>Ahmadi charged with posing as Muslim for second time in Sargodha</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/418714/ahmadi-charged-with-blasphemy-for-second-time-in-sargodha</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/418714/ahmadi-charged-with-blasphemy-for-second-time-in-sargodha#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 07 Aug 12 13:31:52 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.mehmood]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=418714</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Jeweller Muhammad Ashraf was charged for putting up a translation of Quranic text in his shop.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[An Ahmadi jeweller in Silanwali, Sargodha was charged with blasphemy for the second time in his life for “posing as a Muslim” and for putting up a translation of the Quranic text in his shop.

Muhammad Ashraf, who was earlier charged along with his co-workers in 2009 for posing as Muslims, was charged with blasphemy on July 23 this year under Section 298-C on the complaint of Hafiz Muhammad Imran.

Ashraf was sent to Central Jail Sargodha on July 24 and was released on bail on the exchange of bail bonds worth Rs50,000 on July 31. The case is under trial at a local magisterial court in Sargodha.

The FIR registered against Ashraf mentioned that he had put up translations of text from the Holy Quran in his shop at Kobi Market, Saeed Bazar, which was against the Section 298-C of 1984 Ordinance.

As per Section 298-C, an Ahmadi who “refers to his faith as Islam, or preaches or propagates his faith, or invites others to accept his faith, by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations, or in any manner whatsoever outrages the religious feelings of Muslims” will be punished with up to three years in prison and is liable to pay a fine.

The text translation in Ashraf’s shop read, “O people of faith always speak the straight truth.”

The Station House Officer (SHO) of the Silanwali Police Station, Irfan Safdar, told The Express Tribune that, “After the complaint, our security constable Aslam and other investigation staff of police went to verify if the translation of the Quranic text was actually there at Ashraf’s shop, and it was. So we registered the FIR.”

The SHO said the security constables verified that, “Ashraf was spreading his faith and pretends to be a Muslim.” He further said that the “entire process of verification and taking Ashraf into custody took about two hours. Ashraf was taken into custody and then the FIR was registered quickly after that.”

According to details shared with The Express Tribune, on July 22, Hafiz Imran came to the jeweller's shop which has been in the market for seven years, and asked for removal of the translation, which Ashraf refused to take off.

Ashraf recalled that Imran said to him “these are good words, but this (Ashraf’s shop) is not a good place.”

The next day, when Ashraf went to open his shop at around 11am, he met the police security constable Aslam, who according to the SHO verified the presence of the Quranic text translation in Ashraf’s shop.

Ashraf said the police security constable was followed by another man in civilian clothes from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) who picked him up and said that the SHO wanted to speak to him.

Ashraf was then taken to the police station and put behind bars. Eventually he was imprisoned for six days in the Central Jail Sargodha where he stayed in the same section as that of murderers and prisoners on death row.

In 2009, Ashraf and two other Ahmadi men who have businesses in the same market, were arrested for ‘posing as Muslims’ and for praying inside a room in the market. After spending 28 days in jail after that FIR, Ashraf and his co-accused got bail from the court.

District Police Officer (DPO) Sargodha Dr Rizwan told The Express Tribune that, “In my field of experience, the intolerance against Ahmadis has considerably decreased, over the last few years – I mean the use of violence against them by the extreme right wing. The use of legal apparatus to redress perceived transgression is indicative of improved civility.”

Spokesperson of the Ahmadi community in Pakistan, Saleemuddin asked, “Does the Punjab police have nothing better to do, than to register FIRs against peaceful citizens on complaints of every cleric? Do they not have terrorists and criminals to catch for people’s protection?”

The community says that there are a number of cases which are pending in courts against Ahmadi citizens, in which even women and children have been charged with 298-C. There is also an active FIR registered against the residents of the entire town of Rabwah with the same charges. Rabwah, or Chanab Nagar, is in district Jhang of Punjab and has the highest population of Ahmadi community in Pakistan.

'Treated like lepers and Jews'

Leading human rights activist, former chairperson HRCP and former president Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan Asma Jahangir while speaking to The Express Tribune said that the government officials have always given a message that they do not recognise the Ahmadi community, which is “treated like lepers and Jews” in Pakistan.

Commenting on the current state of Ahmadi persecution, Jahangir said that “the situation is so bad that I, who do not support the Ahmadi faith but oppose their persecution, have been threatened.”

Jahangir added that the “politicians will only care about Ahmadi community when they are not on the separate electorate anymore.”]]>
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			<title>Hate violence: Ahmadi leader gunned down in Karachi</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/410802/hate-violence-ahmadi-leader-gunned-down-in-karachi</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/410802/hate-violence-ahmadi-leader-gunned-down-in-karachi#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jul 12 04:31:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[samia.malik]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=410802</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Second killing of an Ahmadi in the city and eleventh in Pakistan this year.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[An Ahmadi leader was gunned down in Karachi on Thursday morning.


Mukarram Naeem Ahmed Gondal, president of Jamaat Ahmadiyya’s Orangi Town chapter, was shot by two men on a motorbike as he was leaving his residence for work.

Gondal, 52, was working as an assistant director for the State Bank of Pakistan. He leaves behind his wife among the bereaved.

SITE Police Station SHO Rao Rafique told The Express Tribune that an FIR has been lodged by the police and the investigations are underway. He added that since the FIR was filed against unidentified persons, they have yet to ascertain the reasons behind the killing. Rafique said the deceased was a resident of Meteroville SITE and confirmed he was shot once by the two assailants.

A committee member of the Sadr Anjuman Ahmaddiya Rabwah Pakistan, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune that he was serving as the president of the Jamaat’s Orangi Town chapter for the past 11 years.

“He had no enemies and was very well respected,” he said.

The incident is the second killing of an Ahmadi in Karachi and the eleventh in the country so far this year. Earlier in January, Ahsan Kamal was gunned down in Manzoor Colony.

There have also been various other attacks on Ahmadis in the city, where the victims were able to escape death. Muhammad Akram Bhatti was a victim of one such attack, which left him severely injured.

“This state of fear has made living difficult for us,” said Mukarram Saleemuddin, a Jamaat Ahmadiyya spokesperson. He added that wall chalking inciting religious hatred were cropping up in various localities as well.

According to the Jamaat committee member, there are about 700 to 800 Ahmadis living in Orangi Town who, he claims, are being watched whenever they congregate at their place of worship. There is only one place of worship for the community in the township, he added. He blamed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi – militant outfits who allegedly have a hold in the area – for a role “in the community’s persecution”.

The committee member said neither law enforcement agencies nor the city’s two dominant political parties – namely Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Pakistan Peoples Party – are any help when it comes to their protection.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Target killing: Ahmadi leader shot down in Karachi</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/410566/ahmadi-leader-shot-down-in-karachi</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/410566/ahmadi-leader-shot-down-in-karachi#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jul 12 17:37:00 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[samia.malik]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=410566</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Mukarram Gondal was on his way to work in the morning when gunmen shot him in the head.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[An Ahmadi leader, who was the president of the Orangi Town Jamaat, was gunned down in Karachi on Thursday.

Mukarram Naeem Ahmed Gondal, 52, was on his way to work in the morning when two people on a motorcycle approached him and shot him in the head killing him on the spot. Gondal was working at the State Bank of Pakistan as an assistant director.

SHO SITE Police Station Rao Rafique told The Express Tribune that the deceased was the son of Abdul Waheed, and a resident of Meteroville SITE. He was shot once by two men on a motorcycle, he confirmed.

An FIR, 374/2012, for the murder has been lodged by the police and investigations are underway, he said. The officer did not offer any insight on the perceived motive behind the murder.

This is the second killing of an Ahmadi in Karachi and 11th in Pakistan this year. Earlier this year in January, Ahsan Kamal was shot in the head at a mobile phone franchise in Manzoor Colony. Several other Ahmadis have been attacked but they escaped death.

There are around 20,000 Ahmadis living in the city and their leaders say that the areas where they feel the most threatened include Drig Road, Orangi Town, Baldia, Mauripur and Steel Town.]]>
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			<title>A demolition in Kharian</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/407855/a-demolition-in-kharian</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/407855/a-demolition-in-kharian#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jul 12 16:40:01 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[amna.agha]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=407855</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The incident in Kharian will only encourage police to act in a similar manner and meals.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The persecution of the Ahmadiyya community has reached new heights following the destruction of six minarets at an Ahmadi place of worship in Kharian on July 10. Deeply appalling is the fact that the initiative was taken by the very people who are responsible for upholding and protecting every individual’s rights and freedom — the police. And, more ludicrous is the fact that an SHO claimed that the process of knocking down the minarets was “amicable and peaceful”.

Destruction of one’s home of worship is a propagation of hatred and intolerance. Of course, such abominable actions are nothing new in the history of Pakistan. Agitation against the Ahmadiyya community began in 1948 when the religio-political group, the Majlis-e-Ahrarul Islam, demanded that Ahmadi government officials be removed from their posts. Pakistan’s foreign minister at the time, Zafarullah Khan, was also an Ahmadi. In 1953, mass rioting and hate campaigns launched against Ahmadis led to Zafarullah Khan’s resignation in 1954. Surprising on the state’s part, an inquiry was launched into the rioting in order to understand the reason for the agitation and to potentially seek protection for the victims of intolerance. The analysis was titled ‘The Punjab Disturbances of 1953’, also known as the Munir Commission Report. Written by Justice Mohammad Munir, the report found the Ahrar guilty of injustice and concluded, “… it is our deep conviction that if the Ahrar had been treated as a pure question of law and order, without any political considerations, one district magistrate and one superintendent of police could have dealt with them”.

The report was ignored by the National Assembly in 1974 when an amendment to the Constitution declared Ahmadis non-Muslims, granting religious persecution, the protection of law. Further humiliation was brought to the Ahmadi community in 1984, when Ahmadis were prohibited to ‘pose’ as Muslims. Where does one begin to describe the irony?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Pakistan once committed, states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his [or her] 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”. However, it appears that this does not apply in Pakistan.

While Pakistan’s majority is Sunni, it houses many minority sects and religions. The people belonging to those sects and religions, while they might be peace-loving, are automatically treated as inferior and as enemies. With Pakistan fighting multiple internal and external battles, how is the country ever supposed to unite in order to fend off opponents in those battles?

It is not for the police or the government of a country to decide what qualifies one as Muslim or non-Muslim. Religion is a subjective matter — one of the heart and the mind — and must not be objectified through the implementation of discriminatory laws. State interference in an individual’s personal beliefs is a frivolous pursuit that is only detrimental to the progress of Pakistan as it excludes significant portions of its already withering minority population.

The incident in Kharian will only encourage the police to act in a similar manner in the future. Minority laws must be revised and paid more heed to. The police force must be taught to be tolerant and fair in its dealings with and treatment of minorities.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>An act of bigotry</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/407389/an-act-of-bigotry</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/407389/an-act-of-bigotry#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jul 12 18:15:58 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=407389</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Soon, groups will be targeted not just on the basis of their ethnicity, beliefs but also because of their lifestyle.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The demolition of six minarets by the police at an Ahmadi place of worship in Kharian says a lot about the continued official discrimination against the beleaguered community and our culpability in this discrimination. The spate of attacks on Ahmadi places of worship and the continuous assault on their property and business has made life intolerable for them. Meanwhile, every time we sign a form specifically singling out the Ahmadi community as not being Muslim, we are quietly adding to the many problems it faces in the country. It is our acquiescence to the treatment meted out to Ahmadis that allows injustice to continue and even intensify. Essentially, in Pakistan, Ahmadis have been declared an outlawed community, one that is not only undeserving of protection, but in whose case law-enforcement agencies do nothing if vigilantes target the community.

Since the government has shown absolutely no inclination to protect the Ahmadi community from trumped-up attacks, it will be up to those few human rights campaigners and others, who care about the plight of downtrodden communities, to chronicle and reveal the many cases of violence against them. In Kharian, the complaint was that the Ahmadi place of worship should not have minarets since that would make the place of worship resemble a mosque. In other cases, Ahmadis have been accused of blasphemy and other crimes when the real issue was perhaps a property dispute or a related matter. In such cases, the police nearly always end up taking the side of the aggressor.

As tempting as it may be to simply turn a blind eye to the treatment of Ahmadis because the community is small and not worth the bother, we should always keep in mind that it is exactly this intolerant and bigoted attitude that has made life impossible for other minority communities and sects. The Shia Hazara community is just one example of a group of people, who are being targeted in a similar manner. Soon, groups will be targeted not just on the basis of their ethnicity and beliefs but also because of their lifestyle. Not stopping this menace dead in its tracks now, only ensures that it mushrooms and takes over the entire country later.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Police demolish minarets of Ahmadi place of worship</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/407125/police-demolish-minarets-of-ahmadi-place-of-worship</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/407125/police-demolish-minarets-of-ahmadi-place-of-worship#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jul 12 04:29:07 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[rabia.mehmood]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Spokesperson of Ahmadi community says 6 minarets demolished, 2 bigger ones to be taken down later.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The police destroyed six minarets at a place of worship for Ahmadis in Kharian city on Tuesday night.


The dome-like structures were taken down in Bait-ul-Hamd by policemen on an application of some members of the Tehreek-e-Tahafuzz-e-Islam, a religious organisation affiliated with the Barelvi sect.

The organisation asked the police to take action under Section 298-B and C of the Pakistan Penal Code, according to which it is illegal for Ahmadis to ‘act or look’ like Muslims, or call their places of worship ‘mosques’.

However, no court order was issued regarding the demolition of these minarets and while SHO Raja Zahid claims the decision came “after a mutual consensus,” the community begs to differ.

At about 9:15 pm on Tuesday policemen, under the supervision of DSP Sultan Meeran went to the place of worship near Kabari Bazaar in the Pul Nullah area of the city.

Six minarets of the double-storey building were demolished, whereas two others, which were bigger in size, could not be taken down due to a lack of skilled labour. The police decided they would be taken down later, said the Ahmadiya community’s area representative, Nasir Dar.

SHO Raja Zahid said it was an “amicable and peaceful process and 80% of the work has been completed.”

Zahid added that a committee was formed by DSP Sultan Meeran, which mutually decided that the minarets should be demolished to avoid any untoward incident in the peaceful city.

Spokesman for the community Saleemuddin sees the move to mar the building, which was built in 1980, as a violation of rights. “Is there a patent for the design? All kinds of buildings have minarets and domes as part of their designs, why can’t Ahmadis retain the ones built before the 1984 ordinance?”

This is the first time since 1984 that minarets of a place of worship of Ahmadis have been destroyed by the police, though a number of places have been sealed by authorities in the past.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2012. ]]>
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			<title>Police demolish Ahmadi worship place minarets in Kharian</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/406708/police-demolish-ahmadi-worship-place-minarets-in-kharian</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/406708/police-demolish-ahmadi-worship-place-minarets-in-kharian#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jul 12 11:04:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.mehmood]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=406708</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Spokesperson of Ahmadi community says 6 minarets demolished, 2 bigger ones to be taken down later.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Six minarets of an Ahmadi place of worship, Baitul Hamd, were demolished by the Kharian city police Tuesday night.

The demolition took place on the application of Saqib Shakeel Ghazi, Syed Iftikhar Kazmi and others from the Barelvi religious organisation called Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Islam. It had been filed to the Kharian police station.

The application asked the police to take action under the Section 298 B and C of the 1984 ordinance, which declares it illegal for Ahmadis to act or look like Muslims, to practice or propagate their faith and to call their worship place a “mosque”.  There were no court orders for the demolition.

Police personnel, under the supervision of DSP Sultan Meeran, assisted by SHO Kharian Sadar Police Station Raja Zahid went to the worship place located near Kabari Bazar, Pul Nullah in Kharian.

Ahmadi community spokesperson in Kharian, Nasir Dar told The Express Tribune that six minarets had already been demolished whereas the police would demolish the two bigger ones later on as one was attached to the worship place’s electric supply and the other would fall on the building if not taken apart with the help of skilled labour.

The Kalma written on the front of the worship place’s entrance was also removed by the police as well, and the complimentary quotes about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were whitewashed.

SHO Raja Zahid said, “Everything was done amicably and peacefully and 80% of the work has been completed.”

Zahid further told The Express Tribune that after receiving the application from the afore-mentioned religious organizations, two meetings with the Ahmadi community and the applicants of the religious organization were held.

Afterwards a committee formed by DSP Sultan Meeran decided that it would be better to demolish the minarets. Zahid added that “noted and respected citizens were part of this committee also.”

SHO Raja Zahid said that the decision to demolish the minarets and other similar actions taken regarding Baitul Hamd were done “after a mutual consensus of the parties involved and the Qadiani community members who were very cooperative”.

“The reason for taking armed police personnel was for the protection of the Qadiyani community also,” said a police official.

Zahid added that, “We made sure that we were respectful, but the law of 298-B clearly states that Qadianis cannot call their worship place a ‘mosque’, so if it cannot be called that, then it cannot resemble the mosque either,” said Zahid.

However, Nasir Dar interprets the “mutual consensus” differently.

Dar said, “In our meeting with the police and the applicants, we told them that they can take off the Kalma and whitewash the quotes, if they think that displaying these texts was an illegal act by the community but told them that we would not do it with our own hands.”

Dar further said that when the minarets demolition came up, community thought that it was too much and told the police that “the minarets should only be demolished unless there is a court order to do so.”

“In fact we pleaded that the minarets should not be touched but nobody paid attention to our plight,” added Dar.

This is the first demolition of Ahmadi worship places’ minarets by Police after 1984. However there are a number of worship places which are sealed by the authorities, the community members say. There have been incidents where the Kalma has been removed or hidden from the worship places by the authorities, despite community protests.

He said that the community could not do anything except let the demolition happen because they do not disobey the law. Dar alleges that during the two combined meetings with the Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Islam members and the SHO, Saqib Shakeel Ghazi threatened that if the police did not demolish the minarets, they would do so themselves.

Baitul Hamd was built in 1980, four years before the 1984 Ordinance.  The spokesperson for the Ahmadi community in Pakistan, Saleemuddin said, “Is there a patent for the design of a minaret that these people have?”

“All kinds of buildings have minarets and domes as part of their designs then why can’t the Ahmadis retain the ones which are on the pre-1984 worship places?”

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Hussain Naqi, a senior member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said “The police and state are not timid in such incidents, they are not even appeasing to the extremist elements but conniving with them.”

Naqi added that the Chief Justice of Pakistan should take a suo motu. “Till the blasphemy laws are repealed such incidents will keep happening,” he said, adding that the police whitewashing the complimentary quotes for the Prophet and taking off the Kalma tiles was an act of blasphemy as well.

This is the third major incident this year which involves the status of an Ahmadi place of worship. In May 2012, a lower court in Lahore, ordered the police to act as per law on an application which asked for the demolition of Baitul Zikr in Lahore.

In March, couplets of the Holy Quran written on tiles at the Sultanpura place of worship in Lahore were desecrated when police got them removed via labourers.]]>
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			<title>PTA bans official Ahmadi website: Report</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/404509/pta-bans-official-ahmadi-website-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/404509/pta-bans-official-ahmadi-website-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jul 12 11:53:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=404509</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Sources say Muttahida Ulema Board demanded that the site be blocked for blasphemous content.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has banned the official website of the Ahmaddiya community, alislam.org, according to a report published in The Nation on Friday.

A PTA official, speaking to The Nation, said that the site was blocked because, as per the Constitution, the Ahmadis are not allowed to propagate their religious views publicly. He added that the PTA has already blocked several sites with inappropriate content in the past.

ProPakistani had earlier reported that the site was blocked after it was accused of publishing blasphemous content against the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The Nation's sources add that the Muttahida Ulema Board had demanded that PTA block the website for blasphemous content.

After media reports emerged of the site blockade, former MNA Farahnaz Ispahani tweeted saying that she had taken up the issue with concerned officials in Pakistan and is waiting for action.

Former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani also tweeted that the blockade “reflects religious intolerance and violates constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.”]]>
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			<title>The condemned: A special report on Ahmadi persecution - coming soon</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/401073/the-condemned-a-special-report-on-ahmadi-persecution-coming-soon</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/401073/the-condemned-a-special-report-on-ahmadi-persecution-coming-soon#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jun 12 09:35:49 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.mehmood]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=401073</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ahmadis remain under a constant state of attack; killed with impunity because their persecution is ignored.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA['The condemned’ is an endeavor to chronicle Ahmadi persecution in Pakistan.

The upcoming documentary aims to let voices from the community tell their stories themselves. Most of the interviews have been recorded without revealing the identities of the interviewees because the degree of threat these people face is extreme.

For an Ahmadi, to even come out in public to let the society openly know that he or she is a follower of this faith is a risk. To film the major chunk of the report, we travelled to Rabwah which is the hometown of the community in Pakistan and also the safest place for an Ahmadi to live in the country.

There are many victims of persecution who cannot even leave the town out of fear for their lives.

This is their story.
BACKGROUND
Primary target

The Ahmadi population remains under what is a constant state of attack. Reports of assaults and murders are received frequently…Ahmadi-specific laws enforced in the country, since the 1970s, prevent the community from “posing” as Muslims or calling their places of worship “mosques”.

The treatment meted out to the Ahmadi community is a very biased one, where they have faced year after year of persecution and abuse. Further disturbing is the reality that there is no sign that such practices will end soon.

Why speak for the Ahmadis?

A fragile defence of the silence on the issue could be along the lines that it is not really my cause or you know one cannot speak for everybody or on every issue, etc. That is ridiculous and cowardly; you cannot let a moral challenge go when it is menacingly looking you in the eye. The discussion on the persecution of Ahmadis has a sobering effect, even on some of the most firebrand, outspoken activists. The discussion is subdued, with often a tedious effort to search for neutral, inoffensive words since the matter is ‘sensitive’.

A most dangerous place

Ahmadis may be killed with impunity because their persecution by a significant segment of society is ignored by the state and the government of the day…Hatred and extremism are becoming the hallmarks of the sociology of the state.]]>
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			<title>Violence: Ahmadi man attacked on Sunday was target of threats</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/399166/violence-ahmadi-man-attacked-on-sunday-was-target-of-threats</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/399166/violence-ahmadi-man-attacked-on-sunday-was-target-of-threats#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jun 12 19:58:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=399166</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Letters from militant group have also been sent to community representatives.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A member of the Ahmadiyya community who was targeted by drive-by shooters on Sunday is in critical condition and undergoing medical treatment.

Aslam Bhatti, 34, was sitting at his computer shop in Baldia Town on Sunday morning when armed men riding on motorcycles shot at him four times. While Bhatti tried to duck two bullets, a bullet ripped through his shoulder and another through his jaw, leaving him critically injured.

Bhatti, the father of three daughters, had reportedly received death threats by people in his locality who called him an infidel and asked him to leave the area.  SHO Saeedabad Irshad told The Express Tribune that since Bhatti had a facial injury he has not recorded a statement to the police as yet. He said that Bhatti was a respected man in the neighborhood and had no personal enmity. While he did not rule out the possibility that Bhatti was targeted for his faith, he said the police would only know the motive once it had investigated the case.

During the last four days, prominent leaders of the Ahmadiyya community have been receiving printed death threats at their residences or workplaces.  Masood Khan, a Karachi-based representative said that, “People are extremely frightened and are tense that something ugly might take place against our community soon.” The letters bear the name of the ‘Tanzeem al Qaeda and Tehreek-i-Taliban’. The letters state that Ahmadis are enemies of Islam and state that they should be killed. They have been addressed to active community members and have been received at a community centre as well as in residential areas. Khan said graffiti against the community has also appeared in different parts of Orangi recently.

The Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan’s spokesperson Saleemuddin believes Bhatti was targeted because of his beliefs. Around six Ahmadis have been killed in Pakistan since January 2012, including Ahsan Kamal, who was shot dead in Karachi earlier this year. The spokesperson urged the government to take notice of these incidents and also stop the distribution of such threatening letters.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>‘Excavation of Ahmadi grave could spark clash’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/394030/%e2%80%98excavation-of-ahmadi-grave-could-spark-clash%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/394030/%e2%80%98excavation-of-ahmadi-grave-could-spark-clash%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 15 Jun 12 05:10:29 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=394030</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ahmadiyya community in Faisalabad calls upon govt, police officials to step in.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Claiming of constant discrimination and threats to their lives, the Ahmadiyya community in Faisalabad has one more thing to worry about: resting in peace.


The Ahmadiyya community has called upon government functionaries as well as police authorities to help avert a possible clash which could erupt if the grave of an Ahmadi is excavated from a Muslim cemetery in the jurisdiction of the Jaranwala police station.

In this regard, Secretary Amoor-e-Aama, Jamaat Ahmadiyya Faisalabad, Syed Mahmood Ahmad Shah has written two letters to the Punjab home secretary and top police officials, expressing fears that if immediate steps are not taken to resolve the issue many Ahmadis “may lose their lives at the hands of banned outfits that are constantly hurling threats”.

He pointed out that for the last many years, the Ahmadiyya community has been living in peace and harmony and the communities (Muslim and Ahmadiyya) have a common graveyard in Jaranwala.

He further said that one member of their community, Nazeer Ahmad, who died on May 11, 2012, was buried in the graveyard, with the consent of all the villagers. However, he added, soon enough some maulvis from out of town started protesting against the burial and began a hate campaign against Ahmadis.

“The locals facilitated the funeral prayer and permitted the burial as they are not perverse and deviant like the maulvis, who are from out of town. They are trying to convince people to dig out the graves of Ahmadis saying they are non-Muslim infidels,” Shah said.

The secretary warned that if a single grave of an Ahmadi is desecrated, it would result in “serious consequences”.

He appealed to government functionaries and police authorities to discourage the maulvis taking any such step.

“We have been targeted and victimised mercilessly but there has been no sympathetic consideration for this community,” Shah said.

Meanwhile, SP Jaranwala Division, Shah Nawaz told The Express Tribune that the issue had been resolved following negotiations with all the stakeholders including the Ahmadiyya community.

“It has been made clear to the Ahmadiyya community that they will not bury their community members in a graveyard which is also a Muslim graveyard,” he said

The police official further said that efforts are being made for the allocation of state land for burials of Ahmadis separately in a newly developed graveyard.

“Special police forces have also been constituted which will patrol in the area around the clock so as to avert any untoward incident,” the SP added.   

Published In The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Primary target</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/388229/primary-target</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/388229/primary-target#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 03 Jun 12 20:56:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=388229</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Ahmadi population remains under what is a constant state of attack.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Ahmadi population remains under what is a constant state of attack. Reports of assaults and murders are received frequently. Now, about two years after the attack in Lahore that killed some 100 Ahmadis while at prayer, a court in the city has ordered the police to act ‘under the law’ against one of the Baitul Zikrs that was fired upon and bombed. Ahmadi-specific laws enforced in the country, since the 1970s, prevent the community from “posing” as Muslims or calling their places of worship “mosques”. The plaintiff in the case had already demanded that the minaret and dome of the building be demolished and the Kalima, which is inscribed on the building, be removed. The police had in fact already boarded up the latter to hide it from sight. The Ahmadis have a different version where they state that the verse was not removed, as required under law, and has existed before such requirements were introduced.

The treatment meted out to the Ahmadi community is a very biased one, where they have faced year after year of persecution and abuse. Further disturbing is the reality that there is no sign that such practices will end soon. In fact, this will not happen until drastic change in policy and efforts to alter how things stand right now begin swiftly. There is another rather ironic aspect to all this. A state-of-the-art hospital in Chiniot district, in the city of Rabwah — renamed Chenab Nagar by the last PML-N government to rule Punjab in the 1990s — runs a service for patients of all beliefs and creed at an extremely nominal cost. People from across Punjab and other areas of the country flock to it in huge numbers. Yet, this humanitarianism is rarely spoken of or mentioned in what remains essentially a highly-biased media. Ahmadi leaders say that even those who use such services continue to vilify the community.

The latest ruling in Lahore shows the extent to which our forces can stoop to make the Ahmadis feel as though they are outcasts of society, conveniently ignoring the lack of similar prejudice from them, despite the Pakistani society’s many injustices towards them.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4th, 2012.]]>
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