Supreme Court issues clarification order

Top court reiterates stance on Ahmadi groups

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court in a decision on a criminal review petition No.2/2024 stated that no one can claim to be Muslim until he/she has unconditional faith in 'Khatam-e-Nabuwwat' of Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH).

It said that the court has clearly stated in the verdict that both the groups, which called themselves Ahmadi, are non-Muslims in accordance with Sharia, the Constitution and the law. These groups have no right to spread their beliefs in Muslims at public or private forums. The court has clarified this point while accepting the appeal of the Punjab government, it said.

A press release issued by the top court said that the decision in the criminal review petition was announced on July 24, and it was written in Urdu language so the general public can easily understand it.

It said that the top court has sought guidance from authentic educational institutions and except this, other individuals were also given opportunity to submit written arguments during the hearing. The apex court also viewed the proceedings of Parliamentary Committee and took guidelines from on record statements of committee members including Mufti Mehmood, Maulana Zafar Ahmed Ansari, Maulana Abdul Haq, Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani, Maulana Abdul Mustafa Azhari, Maulana Syed Muhammad Ali Rizvi, Maulana Saddar Al-Shaheed, Maulana Nematullah, Professor Ghafoor Ahmed and other scholars. Except this, the writings of Syed Abul Ala Modoodi and other scholars are also viewed, which has been mentioned in the order.

The press release said that the decision has also been in line with the previous judgments of the Supreme Court and Federal Shariat Court (FSC). Despite this, the people who didn't appear before the court after provision of repeated opportunities have started baseless allegations and presenting their opinion as more strong over the stance of worthy scholars, which is an inappropriate act, it said.