Pakistan

Textile City: Politicians turn blind eye to hate pamphlets

Rights organisation fears mass target killings of Ahmadis in Faisalabad.

Shamsul Islam June 13, 2011

FAISALABAD:

A rights organisation said it feared large-scale targeted killing of Ahmadis in Faisalabad after pamphlets labelling members of the Ahmadiyya community “Wajibul Qatl” (‘liable to be murdered’), and inciting people to publicly attack followers of the faith, were openly and widely circulated in Faisalabad.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said that “the government has been made fully aware of the threats to the Ahmadiyya community [and] the AHRC urges the government to take immediate action to prevent such killings and destruction of their industrial and commercial establishments.”

The statement bemoaned the insensitivity of elected representatives from the district to the precarious situation brewing in the city.

“The Ahmadiyya community has informed all members of national and provincial assemblies elected from Faisalabad and the local administration through the district commissioner of this serious threat but no one is taking action,” the statement said.

“It is astonishing that provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah, and leader of the opposition in Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz are both aware of the mass appeal to kill Ahmadis but both of them are turning a blind eye to the situation,” it added.

The politicians fear losing their right-wing vote bank by standing up for Ahmadiyya community, the statement said.

“It is alleged that Rana Sanaullah who belongs to Faisalabad, had previously supported the movement against Ahmadis by providing official support to Majlis-e-Khatm-e-Nabuwwat,” the statement added.

The AHRC said it has received information that a plan has been chalked out to kill the owners and family members of 36 commercial and industrial establishments belonging to Ahmadiyya community.

If target killings start, the government will be answerable not only to the Ahmadiyya community but also to citizens of Pakistan and the international community, the statement added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2011.

COMMENTS (30)

zahid | 12 years ago | Reply La Ikra Fideen is the line written in Quran. It means there is no compulsion in any relegion. Similarly we ahmadies are never forcing any one to complsorily bring belief in Ahmadiyyat. We are just spreading the true message, but it is up to the person who will after coming to know the truth will bring a belief for the same. If he feels the message spread by Ahmadiyyat is wrong then he will not act on it. Same as for example, if I give a coin to a beggare, who is standing in a road & asking for a help, but if the begger dosent receive the coin then the coin stays with me only. But I never force the begger on the gun point to take the coin, nor I killed the beggare for not picking the coin form me. Similarly if you found some thing wrong in the message spread by Ahmadiyyat then you should bring that fact or message which is double crossing our message or which is more clear & true in the path of islam.

Noor | 12 years ago | Reply Pakistan has systematically been turning a blind eye whenever minorities are sidelined for hate or murder. This is yet again another example of this and i am afraid if Pakistan does not wake up and smell the coffee the rest of the world will simply ignore it and pay lip service to this country. Lets decide which is it to be, true respect and honor amongst men and or cowardly retreat by not condemning such actions!

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Mali | 12 years ago | Reply Both apartheid regimes, Pakistan and Islamic-Palestine (Fatah and Hamas, who are alos anti-Jewish and anti-Christian bigots) persecute the Ahmadis. Why?

Bung Karno | 12 years ago | Reply @muhammad behzad anis: Don’t you have a feel of shame to Allah to whom this universe is belonging? Allah let the earth inhabited by all the people; Muslims or non Muslims even atheists? He given the right to life and sustenance to all of the human being whiles your people have a pleasure to terminate a human being. Very disgusting

Akber | 12 years ago | Reply AHRC picks up from Tribune, and then Tribune makes news story out of AHRC. Wow - great journalism. Here is the official denial of the fake leaflets: http://www.qern.org/en/blog/admin/2011-edition-qadiani-murder-leaflets

jari | 12 years ago | Reply 8@muhammad behzad anis: We are doing this day and night just Google ahmadiyya persecution You will find out.but more than anything we leave it uptown Allah's help to save us and save Pakistan from mullah who is doing all thisand mullah will get punish on these atrocities against humanity. God even doesn't like such behavior against animals.

Indonesian man | 12 years ago | Reply If politicians and Pakistan government always turn blind eye to this situation, I am quite sure that Pakistan soon will be a failure country worse that Somalia where government can't rule the country at all.

Nasir_Bangladesh | 12 years ago | Reply This is the same scenario when ehudies were giving pain to the followers of Hadrat Muhammad pbuh.

Muzaffar Mansoor | 12 years ago | Reply On seeing this cruel act of taking law and order in their hands by militant Khatme Nabuwwat with direct indirect blessings of the government it's agencies and the police and judiciary which is responsible for security of their citizens have tacit colloboration in these inhuman shameful acts. Judiciary will be independent of the CJ orders the army to crush this militant KN/TNR/TTP responsible for the most sufferings of the minorities including worst for Ahmadis. May God help our people understand the truth and to behave in a democratic manner do respect and have respect with fellow human beings and citizens who have equal rights like KN.

AnisAqeel | 12 years ago | Reply @Malik: @fahad zaki: @saeed afridi: I think you guys seem to be right, their numbers are inflated. So you are defending this bias and bigotry with their numbers. Is it not if you have five brothers and one sister, sister must be killed as she is in minority. Whatever any religion a person may have or whatever population of a particular sect may be you simply can not justify any human killing on the basis of bigotry and bias. No religion on earth teaches that.

Humanity | 12 years ago | Reply @Malik: A proof of a failed state and a comatose nation that worships a constitution which legalized persecution and molestation of human rights.

Faraz | 12 years ago | Reply This hate is being propagated by Punjabi's & that's a fact. The rest of the country is sick of your issues.

Tauseef Khan | 12 years ago | Reply @HassanBajwa rightly said. We Ahmadis never resort to violence because this is not the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet(saw) and his companions. There were two incidents where around 70 unarmed Muslims were martyred only because they professed faith in one God. Did the Holy Prophet(saw) and other companions engaged in 'dharna', processions, roadblocks, jalao gheroa, retaliation etc. No - the correct response was prayers. Ahmadis believe that the safety of the citizens of Pakistan is the duty of the Government of Pakistan. Therefore they inform the government but never take the law into their own hands. And Ahmadis follow the time-tested and divine commandment of seeking help from Allah with 'patience and prayers'. They follow the Sunnah of the Prophet(saw), who are these hate-mongers following.

Malik | 12 years ago | Reply @saeed afridi: Do all Ahmadis know English well, have internet access, are Tribune readers and facebook users all at the same time? What is your point and how is it related to this article?

Malik | 12 years ago | Reply Here is the image of the letters which are being sent individually; threatning letter No wonder the culprits claim no agency would do anything about it. Remember its Faisalabad, not tribal area.

Hassan K Bajwa | 12 years ago | Reply @ fahad zaki & saeed Exactly what does the number of ahmadis really have to do with the fact that they are discriminated against and persecuted in pakistan based only on their faith? Whether the number of ahmadis is 10 million or just 10, the fact remains that they are robbed of their human rights, denied justice, denied protection, denied equality and actively persecuted by society. In any case, you are accusing a community of inflating its numbers based entirely on how often this article is being posted on social networking sites. i mean really?? I suggest that if you wish to malign the community, why not go with one of the age-old classics like "they are blasphemers", "they are zionist supporters", "they are intent on destroying the ummah" or any of the other amazingly intellectual and well-founded criticisms levelled by our glorious mullah brigade. One thing you may perhaps not be aware of is that ahmadis have a very different perspective on defending their faith than any of the other muslim sects. Ahmadis are expressly forbidden from fighting in the name of religion. That is why there were no demonstrations after the massacre, why there has never been a case of sectarian violence perpetrated by ahmadis, why they never engage in retaliatory tactics when they are abused and why they do not create a big fuss every time some mullah calls for their death. Every time something of the sort happens they alert the authorities for protection and plead their case with the concerned civic authority. They seek to raise awareness of their circumstances locally and internationally (and there is no lack of awareness) but neither the West nor the East is willing to take up this issue on account of it being so controversial. You are trying to judge ahmadis by the reaction patterns that have become the trademark of "mainstream" muslims. Those reaction patterns simply do not apply because patience, pacifism and peace are the cornerstones of the ahmadi community rather than "glorious jihad". the day the ahmadi community starts down the "glorious jihad" road, is the day the become the exact same as their persecutors.

Iftikhar-ur-Rehman | 12 years ago | Reply Are the local authorities sleeping or waiting for a massacre to happen???? Wake up and do something about this hate pamphlet.

Atif Shamim | 12 years ago | Reply We are promoting "Love For All, Hatred For None" around the globe and in return we are persecuted and declared fit to be killed (Wajib-ul-Qatl) in Pakistan

Waqar | 12 years ago | Reply Reminds me of the times of our Beloved Prophet PBUH and the harsh treatment that sahaba got at the hands of the their own people... there has not been even a single instance in the history of this world where God send someone to world with a message and task and that person and his followers were not greeted with stones and life threatening torture... This is how God proves this to everyone one that people who are on the right path will stay stead-fast and even if they are weak and out numbered they will change the course of history

Columbus | 12 years ago | Reply welcome to islamic republic of pakistan...

deep | 12 years ago | Reply Wow this is good. Instead of an angst ridden article, we have a proactive move to preempt violence. Surely it must be easy to warn the authors of the pamphlet that the police are watching you and also having public meetings of reconciliation between the majority and minority communities...come on Faisalabad...show the way to the others. Of course at the same time, you have programmes by a known-ahmedi baiter in a well-known televangelist who is currently talking about signs of the end of the world. Every second sentence in his presentation has the word - Kuffar - in it. Going by his presentation, Muslims should not sing songs, dance, burst crackers, apply mehendi, fly kites, celebrate Valenitines day, new years day, april fools day...

fahad zaki | 12 years ago | Reply @saeed afridi: yup,i think the ahmadi community has inflated the figures for the number of ahmadis in pakistan and around the world.if there were so many ahmadis then it follows logically they would have gotten more media coverage,if not here then atleast in the west.But look at the number of facebook shares, +1's and tweets,they are very low,even if there are 4 million ahmadis as is clamied then don't you think this number would have been higher?

Hassan K Bajwa | 12 years ago | Reply @ Saeed I'm an ahmadi and I can assure you that no number of "likes" or "shares" can make any difference to the endemic discrimination against ahmadis in Pakistan. Whereas simple awareness can change many a circumstance, there is no amount of awareness of the persecution of ahmadis that will make any difference. It's not as if the people of Pakistan or indeed any human rights organization on the planet are unaware of the plight of ahmadis in muslim states. It's just that it's old news, and too many "likes" and "shares" allow people to level another accusation of ahem "whining" to the list of complaints against ahmadis. Perhaps most ahmadis prefer not to be "outed" on their FB profiles etc because they know how quickly and irreversibly attitudes change once people people find out you are ahmadi. While i myself have always let people know that i belong to an ahmadi family, i know most ahmadis tend to be very discreet about it for fear of the repercussions such an admission can have to their professional and social lives. My cousin's classfellows at medical school never knew he was an ahmadi until the massacre at the ahmadi mosque (yes i will continue to refer to it as such because it is my right). At that point he let his friends know and in spite of the fact that his friends and family had died in the attack, he was ostracized by his friends at school. I have an uncle who spent his entire life in the army until his senior officer told him that he would only get his due promotion if he condemned ahmadis. I myself have sat through many a class at school where the islamiyat or urdu teacher rained down abuse on all ahmadis. These are but minor examples from my life among the most educated and "enlightened" segment of pakistani society. Is it any wonder that ahmadis keep a low profile when an admission of their personal faith can get them ostracised from their social circle, fired from their jobs and excluded from an entire community? You all know what happens to ahmadis in pakistan. You all know that this discrimination is enshrined in our constitution. you all know that an ahmadi family has no recourse to justice if their kin is killed in the name of "islam". You all know that ahmadis have NO RIGHTS in Pakistan. This is no secret and it is not something that people are waiting to be informed about.

babar irfan | 12 years ago | Reply Though the ahmadis by far face the worst abuse and oppression by our society,they are not alone,lther communities such as the hindus,christians also have to face discrimination in evey walk of life.This was not the case in the early years of this country.Jinnah had said in his speech that you are free to go to your places of worship,religion has got nothing to do with the matters of the state.jinnah had created " the republic of pakistan".sadly, after his death the islamic fascists changed it to " the islamic republic of pakistan" which imposed one particular religion on all pakistanis as the state religion. A lot of our people today continue to mistakenly believe that this country was created as the islamic republic of pakistan which is completely false.the word 'islamic' had to be added later to please the islamic extremists who were blackmailing a weak govt. The word needs to wake up and realise what horrific treatment all non-muslims are getting in pakistan.Athiests and ex-muslims are regularly threatened and abused by the islamic fanatics.The world should tell the pakistani govt. that the persecution of athiests and ex-muslims has to stop .

muhammad behzad anis | 12 years ago | Reply if you are not a muslim you have no place in pakistan,this is the message our constitution,our laws,our leaders and our society sends out loud and clear to our non-muslim population.Athiests,agnostics,ex-muslims,ahmadis,christians,hindus,parsis and bahais have no place in our country.They are treated horribly,regarded as second class citizens and thought of as inferiors by us. we always regard them as kafirs and not as equal human beings worthy of respect and dignity and equal in status to us.The minorities also make no attempt to highlight their plight in the international media.Why don't the ahmadis get coverage on the western news channels and newspapers.Why has not any western media outlet run a story or mad a tv report on the distribution of these pamphlets in faisalabad??? i know there are a lot of ahmadis who migrated to the west after the 70's ,their next generations must be educated so why are they failing so badly in getting coverage of the persecution of the ahmadis in the western media?? why didn't the ahmadis lobby effectively to get this story onto CNN,BBC????

saeed afridi | 12 years ago | Reply why does this and previous articles and blogs have so few facebook shares and twitter retweets when the ahmadis claim that they have 4 million people in pakistan and millions living abroad also.I mean if the ahmadi community numbered in the millions then how come all these articles have so few shares??

muhammad sharay bajwa | 12 years ago | Reply The ahmadis sadly are treated as worse than animals in pakistan.There are laws that persecute ahamdis horribly but even worse are society's apartheid against the ahmadis.if we get to know that someone we know is an ahmadi we reject them,don't talk to them and do our best to avoid them at all cost.The ahmadis are told on their faces in their schools,colleges ,offices that they are kaafirs worthy of being killed on sight. I've seen with my eyes how my aunts reacted when they found out that the wife of a colleague of her husband was an ahmadi,my aunt stopped inviting the woman over for parties,didn't send my cousins to the birthday party of the woman's son and after stopped inviting the woman's son to my cousins' birthdays. i mean forget the legal persecution,the societal hatred and bigotry is too horrible by itself.

Subhan Babu | 12 years ago | Reply Is this not terrorism? Why the Army, Human Rights Commission and Supreme Court also turns a blind eye?

AnisAqeel | 12 years ago | Reply What a shame, killing the doves.

Atif | 12 years ago | Reply Another brick in the wall

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