As death toll mounts, Ahmadis fight back – with letters
Community writes to president, prime minister; bemoans lack of action against culprits.
KARACHI:
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.
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.