Chakwal attack: Two Ahmadis, 8 others arrested by police

Residents of Dulmial fled their area, fearing they would also be killed

LAHORE: The police arrested two Ahmadis on Wednesday over charges of murder during raids launched after the attack on an Ahmadi place of worship in Chakwal. This was stated by Jamat-e-Ahmadiyya Spokesperson Saleemuddin as he spoke to The Express Tribune.

The incident took place on December 12 and one person died of a cardiac arrest, while six others were injured.

Eight others, accused of the attack, have also reportedly been arrested, but the police had not put this on record and denied their detentions till the filing of this report.



On the other hand, Ahmadi residents of Dulmial village, where the attack took place, have still not returned to their area, fearing they might also be killed in the wake of the December 12 incident.

Saleemuddin said that the cattle and agricultural land of Ahmadis in Dulmial were left at the mercy of others after they fled. He said efforts were under way to bring these community members back to the area.



According to one of the alleged attackers, Syed Sibtul Hasan, the police have arrested some of his fellows, but are not putting the arrest on record. He said if the Ahmadis came back to their homes, his group will get them arrested for opening fire on them.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan stated grave concern over the deteriorating treatment of Ahmadis. It also demanded a thorough investigation into a raid in Rabwah and attack on the Ahmadi place of worship in Chakwal.

The Rabwah raid was conducted by Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). It raided the offices of a publication of the Ahmadi community in the area of Chiniot on December 5.



“The CTD raid on the offices of the Ahmadi publication in Rabwah appears to be a violation of a Lahore High Court (LHC) order which stated no coercive measures shall be adopted against the petitioner,” a statement read. It added that as far as HRCP could gather, the matter is sub judice and no new order has been issued.

“From the reports received, it appears the CTD did not have any warrants for the raid and certainly did not show any despite repeated requests. They took away laptop and desktop computers, mobile phones, office papers and books,for which they gave no receipt,” the statement continued.

“There was no reason to jostle and rough up four people who were arrested. It is for the CTD and the provincial authorities to explain why a raid against peaceful, unarmed citizens needed to be heavy-handed and why those taken into custody were mistreated.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2016.