Leaders of minority Muslim sect accuse 'fanatics' of digging up baby's grave in Bangladesh
Our Foreign Staff
The TelegraphJuly 11, 2020, 10:21 AM
Leaders of a minority Muslim sect in Bangladesh on Saturday accused “fanatics” of digging up the body of a baby girl from a cemetery grave just hours after being buried and dumping it by a roadside.
The incident, which has sparked outrage on social media, is the latest targeting Ahmadi Muslims who many mainstream Muslims consider “infidels”.
The three-day-old girl was buried in a cemetery in Ghatura in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria on Thursday, local Ahmadi leader, S.M. Selim said.
“Fanatics” dug up the child's body shortly after and left it by a roadside, he added. A photo of the body laid on a straw mat on a road has been widely shared and drawn angry comments.
“Her crime is she was born to an Ahmadi Muslim family,” said Mr Selim.
Police in the district said no complaint had been made however and one officer said the incident had been resolved “peacefully”.
A local councillor, Azad Hazari, said he had intervened with police and the child was finally buried in another graveyard some 10 miles (16 kilometres) away.
A local cleric Munir Hossain denied the body had been exhumed but said local Muslims prevented the parents from burying the baby at the cemetery.
“It is against the Sharia to let an infidel be buried in a Muslim graveyard,” he told AFP. “The pious Muslims of the village would never let it happen.”
The Ahmadis are an offshoot of the mainstream Sunni Muslim branch but are controversial because they believe their founder was a prophet.
They have faced attacks and had religious rights taken away in some Muslim majority countries, including Pakistan. The 100,000 Ahmadis in Bangladesh have come under regular attack.
In recent months, hardline Muslims have threatened to hold protests demanding that the sect be declared “non-Muslims” by the authorities.
In 1999, a bomb at an Ahmadi mosque in the southern city of Khulna, killed at least eight worshippers.
A 2015 suicide blast at an Ahmadi mosque in the northwestern town of Bagmara injured three people.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/le ... 48717.html
Ahmadiyya's and Bahai's - Who are they?
Pakistan man accused of blasphemy shot dead in courtroom
Agence France-Presse
The TelegraphJuly 29, 2020, 9:49 AM
Pakistani man shot dead for alleged blasphemy inside a court room - BILAWAL ARBAB/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A Pakistani man facing charges of blasphemy was shot dead in court on Wednesday as he awaited the start of his hearing, police said.
Tahir Ahmad Nasim, 47, was a member of a persecuted sect whose faith has been deemed heretical in Pakistan because they challenge the succession of the Prophet Mohammed.
He had been escorted into court by police in the northern city of Peshawar when a man opened fire with a pistol.
The victim died on the spot while his 24-year-old attacker was arrested.
"He was killed by a young man inside the court while waiting his turn to appear before the judge," official Misal Khan told AFP.
Mr Nasim was first arrested in April 2018 after a local accused him of blasphemy, a highly inflammatory charge in deeply conservative Pakistan that has sparked mob lynchings, vigilante murders and mass protests.
A conviction sometimes carries the death penalty.
He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community that many mainstream Islamic schools consider to hold blasphemous beliefs.
The group have been designated non-Muslims under Pakistan's constitution and have long been persecuted.
Senior police officer Mansur Amaan said authorities were investigating how the attacker managed to get his hands on a firearm inside a courtroom.
"He might have pulled the gun out of a policeman's holster," Mr Amaan said.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/pak ... 04746.html
Agence France-Presse
The TelegraphJuly 29, 2020, 9:49 AM
Pakistani man shot dead for alleged blasphemy inside a court room - BILAWAL ARBAB/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A Pakistani man facing charges of blasphemy was shot dead in court on Wednesday as he awaited the start of his hearing, police said.
Tahir Ahmad Nasim, 47, was a member of a persecuted sect whose faith has been deemed heretical in Pakistan because they challenge the succession of the Prophet Mohammed.
He had been escorted into court by police in the northern city of Peshawar when a man opened fire with a pistol.
The victim died on the spot while his 24-year-old attacker was arrested.
"He was killed by a young man inside the court while waiting his turn to appear before the judge," official Misal Khan told AFP.
Mr Nasim was first arrested in April 2018 after a local accused him of blasphemy, a highly inflammatory charge in deeply conservative Pakistan that has sparked mob lynchings, vigilante murders and mass protests.
A conviction sometimes carries the death penalty.
He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community that many mainstream Islamic schools consider to hold blasphemous beliefs.
The group have been designated non-Muslims under Pakistan's constitution and have long been persecuted.
Senior police officer Mansur Amaan said authorities were investigating how the attacker managed to get his hands on a firearm inside a courtroom.
"He might have pulled the gun out of a policeman's holster," Mr Amaan said.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/pak ... 04746.html
Pakistan seeks to block US-based website of minority Ahmadis
KATHY GANNON
Associated Press Thu, January 21, 2021, 7:48 AM
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has ordered a U.S.-based website propagating the faith of Pakistan's minority Ahmadis shut down over allegedly blasphemous content, one of the site's managers said Thursday.
Harris Zafar said Pakistan’s Telecommunication Authority earlier this month issued a legal notice for him and fellow American Amjad Mahmood Khan, who also manages Trueislam.com, demanding that the site be shut down.
Zafar said the website is based in the U.S., where both he and Khan live and work, and called Pakistan's action “a brazen act of suppression of freedom of expression and freedom of religion."
“All content is U.S. based and all activities are in the U.S. as well,” said Zafar. “There is nothing about Pakistan on the site. ”
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority did not immediately respond to an AP request for comment and Zafar and Khan's website is not available in Pakistan.
Zafar, who lives in Portland, Oregon but has relatives in Pakistan, said in an email to The Associated Press that he and Khan were also threatened with a $3.1 million fine and warned of charges under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law, which can carry the death penalty for insulting Islam.
Blasphemy has been a contentious issue in Pakistan where domestic and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and to settle personal scores.
Pakistan’s parliament declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974. Since then, they have repeatedly been targeted by Islamic extremists in the Muslim-majority nation. An Ahmadi can get 10 years in prison for claiming to be a Muslim.
The legal notice accuses Zafar and Khan, a lawyer, of violating Pakistani laws for hosting and disseminating content on their website related to members the Ahmadi community who are “not allowed to preach or propagate their faith or invite others to accept their faith."
Zafar said he and Khan were both born in the U.S. and did not flee persecution in Pakistan, though he stressed they “do get involved in helping persecuted Ahmadis in Pakistan and other parts of the world.”
The Ahmadi faith was established on the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, whose followers believe he was the messiah that was promised by the Prophet Muhammad. Pakistan’s parliament declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974. Since then, they have repeatedly been targeted by Islamic extremists in the Muslim-majority nation.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 16795.html
KATHY GANNON
Associated Press Thu, January 21, 2021, 7:48 AM
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has ordered a U.S.-based website propagating the faith of Pakistan's minority Ahmadis shut down over allegedly blasphemous content, one of the site's managers said Thursday.
Harris Zafar said Pakistan’s Telecommunication Authority earlier this month issued a legal notice for him and fellow American Amjad Mahmood Khan, who also manages Trueislam.com, demanding that the site be shut down.
Zafar said the website is based in the U.S., where both he and Khan live and work, and called Pakistan's action “a brazen act of suppression of freedom of expression and freedom of religion."
“All content is U.S. based and all activities are in the U.S. as well,” said Zafar. “There is nothing about Pakistan on the site. ”
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority did not immediately respond to an AP request for comment and Zafar and Khan's website is not available in Pakistan.
Zafar, who lives in Portland, Oregon but has relatives in Pakistan, said in an email to The Associated Press that he and Khan were also threatened with a $3.1 million fine and warned of charges under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law, which can carry the death penalty for insulting Islam.
Blasphemy has been a contentious issue in Pakistan where domestic and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and to settle personal scores.
Pakistan’s parliament declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974. Since then, they have repeatedly been targeted by Islamic extremists in the Muslim-majority nation. An Ahmadi can get 10 years in prison for claiming to be a Muslim.
The legal notice accuses Zafar and Khan, a lawyer, of violating Pakistani laws for hosting and disseminating content on their website related to members the Ahmadi community who are “not allowed to preach or propagate their faith or invite others to accept their faith."
Zafar said he and Khan were both born in the U.S. and did not flee persecution in Pakistan, though he stressed they “do get involved in helping persecuted Ahmadis in Pakistan and other parts of the world.”
The Ahmadi faith was established on the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, whose followers believe he was the messiah that was promised by the Prophet Muhammad. Pakistan’s parliament declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974. Since then, they have repeatedly been targeted by Islamic extremists in the Muslim-majority nation.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/pa ... 16795.html
Iranian government orders teachers to identify children of persecuted Baha'i minority
Verity Bowman
The Telegraph Sat, March 13, 2021, 10:04 AM
The Iranian government is ordering teachers to identify children of the persecuted Baha'i minority to convert them to Islam, leaked documents show.
The move forms part of a plan to intensify the monitoring and suppression of the Baha’i people, one of the most persecuted religious minorities in the world.
Local authorities in the city of Sari, in the northern province of Mazandaran, plan to “conduct strict controls” on Baha’i people and track “their operations”, according to a new directive given to officials.
Children are specifically singled out, with teachers directed to “identify Baha’i students” and “bring them into Islam”.
“Clear plans to change children’s beliefs is a galling violation of human rights,” said Diane Ala’i, the Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Natins in Geneva.
The Baháʼí faith originated in Iran during the 19th century, but now has an estimated six million followers around the world.
According to the UN there are about 350,000 Baha'i in the Islamic Republic, making them the country’s biggest religious minority, but they are considered heretical by the Iranian regime.
The document, handed to The League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran and the International Federation for Human Rights, represents an escalation of Iran’s ongoing war against religious minorities.
They warn that it outlines a “detailed plan” to “rigorously” control aspects of the community, including their “public and private meetings”.
The Commission on Ethnicities, Sects and Religions in Sari allegedly issued the document, which operates under Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, a body chaired by the county’s president.
It is thought to stem “from national government entities at the highest levels”, according to Ms Ala’i, and “suggests that similar meetings and directives about the Baha’is may be occurring across Iran”.
“Despite constant claims from the government that Baha’is are not persecuted for their beliefs, the Iranian authorities have once again exposed their true intentions.”
Local officials at all levels received the document, including police and military organizations, educational institutions and economic bodies.
Although Iran discriminates against many religions, including Christianity, the plight of the Baha'is is particularly severe.
Over the last 40 years billions of dollars worth of land and property is thought to have been seized under Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Fire bombings, imprisonment and bans on employment in the public sector are common, as well as systematic attacks. Iranian authorities removed the Baha'i faith as a recognized religion on national ID cards last year.
Recently universities were ordered to uphold a policy prohibiting Baha’is from enrolling. The ban stems from a 1991 memorandum designed to systematically prevent their “progress and development” and was signed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In 2016, a directive issued by Mazandaran officials resulted in mass Baha’i shop closures across the province, leaving economic devastation in its wake. It was approved by the Guardian Council, one of the most influential bodies in Iran.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/ir ... 25542.html
Verity Bowman
The Telegraph Sat, March 13, 2021, 10:04 AM
The Iranian government is ordering teachers to identify children of the persecuted Baha'i minority to convert them to Islam, leaked documents show.
The move forms part of a plan to intensify the monitoring and suppression of the Baha’i people, one of the most persecuted religious minorities in the world.
Local authorities in the city of Sari, in the northern province of Mazandaran, plan to “conduct strict controls” on Baha’i people and track “their operations”, according to a new directive given to officials.
Children are specifically singled out, with teachers directed to “identify Baha’i students” and “bring them into Islam”.
“Clear plans to change children’s beliefs is a galling violation of human rights,” said Diane Ala’i, the Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Natins in Geneva.
The Baháʼí faith originated in Iran during the 19th century, but now has an estimated six million followers around the world.
According to the UN there are about 350,000 Baha'i in the Islamic Republic, making them the country’s biggest religious minority, but they are considered heretical by the Iranian regime.
The document, handed to The League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran and the International Federation for Human Rights, represents an escalation of Iran’s ongoing war against religious minorities.
They warn that it outlines a “detailed plan” to “rigorously” control aspects of the community, including their “public and private meetings”.
The Commission on Ethnicities, Sects and Religions in Sari allegedly issued the document, which operates under Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, a body chaired by the county’s president.
It is thought to stem “from national government entities at the highest levels”, according to Ms Ala’i, and “suggests that similar meetings and directives about the Baha’is may be occurring across Iran”.
“Despite constant claims from the government that Baha’is are not persecuted for their beliefs, the Iranian authorities have once again exposed their true intentions.”
Local officials at all levels received the document, including police and military organizations, educational institutions and economic bodies.
Although Iran discriminates against many religions, including Christianity, the plight of the Baha'is is particularly severe.
Over the last 40 years billions of dollars worth of land and property is thought to have been seized under Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Fire bombings, imprisonment and bans on employment in the public sector are common, as well as systematic attacks. Iranian authorities removed the Baha'i faith as a recognized religion on national ID cards last year.
Recently universities were ordered to uphold a policy prohibiting Baha’is from enrolling. The ban stems from a 1991 memorandum designed to systematically prevent their “progress and development” and was signed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In 2016, a directive issued by Mazandaran officials resulted in mass Baha’i shop closures across the province, leaving economic devastation in its wake. It was approved by the Guardian Council, one of the most influential bodies in Iran.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/ir ... 25542.html
Re: Ahmadiyya's and Bahai's - Who are they?
Ahmadi lawyer booked, arrested in Karachi for having ‘Syed’ in his name
Imtiaz Ali Published April 27, 2023 Updated about 8 hours ago
A senior lawyer from the Ahmadiyya community was booked and arrested on Thursday in Karachi on the complaint of another lawyer over allegation of using “Syed” in his name.
It was the second time in as many years that Advocate Ali Ahmed Tariq had been booked on similar charges.
The first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was filed at City Court Police Station and invokes Section 298-B (misuse of epithets, descriptions, and titles, etc, reserved for certain holy personages or places) of the Pakistan Penal Code
In the FIR, complainant Advocate Mohammed Azhar Khan stated that during an appearance before a district judge he observed that Advocate Tariq had used “Syed” with his name in the affidavit while pleading a case.
The complainant said that Tariq was an Ahmadi who had deliberately affixed “Syed” with his name. He, therefore, requested for a case to be registered against Advocate Tariq.
City Courts Station House Officer (SHO) Adil Khan told Dawn.com that members of the Ahmadiyya community were not supposed to call themselves Muslims or present themselves as ‘Ahle Bait’ under relevant laws.
He added that Tariq was booked after he “misrepresented himself” as a “Syed” while submitting his affidavit in the court as a lawyer.
“The police have taken action and arrested the lawyer who would likely be presented before the court on Friday,” SHO Khan said.
Ahmadiyya Jamaat, through its spokesperson Amir, expressed its concerns over the lodging of two identical FIRs and at the same police station against the senior lawyer.
Advocate Tariq was booked over similar allegations in November as well.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1749597/ahmad ... n-his-name
Imtiaz Ali Published April 27, 2023 Updated about 8 hours ago
A senior lawyer from the Ahmadiyya community was booked and arrested on Thursday in Karachi on the complaint of another lawyer over allegation of using “Syed” in his name.
It was the second time in as many years that Advocate Ali Ahmed Tariq had been booked on similar charges.
The first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was filed at City Court Police Station and invokes Section 298-B (misuse of epithets, descriptions, and titles, etc, reserved for certain holy personages or places) of the Pakistan Penal Code
In the FIR, complainant Advocate Mohammed Azhar Khan stated that during an appearance before a district judge he observed that Advocate Tariq had used “Syed” with his name in the affidavit while pleading a case.
The complainant said that Tariq was an Ahmadi who had deliberately affixed “Syed” with his name. He, therefore, requested for a case to be registered against Advocate Tariq.
City Courts Station House Officer (SHO) Adil Khan told Dawn.com that members of the Ahmadiyya community were not supposed to call themselves Muslims or present themselves as ‘Ahle Bait’ under relevant laws.
He added that Tariq was booked after he “misrepresented himself” as a “Syed” while submitting his affidavit in the court as a lawyer.
“The police have taken action and arrested the lawyer who would likely be presented before the court on Friday,” SHO Khan said.
Ahmadiyya Jamaat, through its spokesperson Amir, expressed its concerns over the lodging of two identical FIRs and at the same police station against the senior lawyer.
Advocate Tariq was booked over similar allegations in November as well.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1749597/ahmad ... n-his-name
Re: Ahmadiyya's and Bahai's - Who are they?
Ahmadi place of worship vandalized in Karachi
Imtiaz Ali Published July 25, 2023 Updated about 13 hours ago 0
A spokesperson for the Ahmadi community said vandals destroyed the minarets of the place of worship.
An Ahmadi place of worship was vandalized in Karachi’s Drigh Road area within the limits of Shah Faisal Colony, police and spokesperson for the community said on Tuesday.
Korangi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tariq Nawaz told Dawn.com that around four persons damaged the minarets on Monday.
He said that police had taken cognisance of the matter and asked a member of the community to lodge a first information report (FIR).
The senior officer said that a person identified as Bilal was in touch with the Shah Faisal Colony station house officer (SHO) till Monday night and officials had advised him to lodge a report.
He said that police had received an application regarding the vandalism, adding that the complainant stated that an FIR would be registered after consulting with the Ahmadi community.
Amir Mehmood, a spokesperson for the Ahmadi community, also said that an application for registering a FIR had been submitted to the police.
The spokesperson said around a dozen people had entered the place of worship at around 3:45pm on Monday and destroyed the minarets with hammers and put “hateful graffiti on the walls”.
He recalled that a few months ago, two places of worship in Saddar and Martin Quarters were vandalized. He said that FIRs were registered in both the cases but police had yet to inform them of the progress in either of them.
He said that the place of worship in Drigh Road had existed since Pakistan was created. “The government has utterly failed to provide security to Ahmadi places of worship,” Mehmood said.
Govt urged to provide security
Separately, a press release from the Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya Pakistan spokesperson called on the government to provide security to the community’s places of worship.
Strongly condemning the incident, the spokesperson said the community’s opponents had “crossed all limits of decency” and the “hate campaign against Ahmadis now knows no bounds”.
“As many as 10 Ahmadi places of worship have been attacked during the current year and so far, none of the aggressors have been held,” the press release said.
The spokesperson said Ahmadis were feeling “an extreme sense of insecurity” while living in their own homeland and the actions of hatemongers were ruining the country’s international image.
“It is high time that such hate mongers are put behind bars so they cannot undermine the fabric of religious harmony in the country any further.”
The spokesperson claimed that miscreants had “finalized plans to attack the Ahmadi places of worship” in various cities and towns across the country in Muharram, adding that announcements for such attacks were being openly made on social media platforms.
The press release said it was the government’s responsibility to arrange security for the community’s worship places so miscreants were unable to harm them.
Anti-Ahmadi drive invites UN bodies’ ire
The drive against the Ahmadi community, which has become a regular feature in Punjab, is not only bringing a bad name to the country, but also inviting the ire of UN bodies.
After a campaign last month to stop Ahmadis from offering sacrifice on Eidul Azha, the latest drive launched against the community involves demolition of the minarets of their places of worship. The drive is being spearheaded by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).
A poster floated by the social media wing of the TLP in Sarai Alamgir, a town near Jhelum, said: “From Shaandar Chowk to the Qadiani Centre, all minarets will be demolished.” The drive, the poster said, would commence at 10am on the 10th of Muharram (July 29) from the TLP’s office in Sarai Alamgir.
On July 14, the TLP pressured police into demolishing minarets of an Ahmadi place of worship in Jhelum. The party’s local chapter later announced that it would demolish minarets of all Ahmadi places of worship in the entire Jhelum district.
Some of these sites are more than a hundred years old.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed concern over the treatment of Ahmadis in Pakistan and asked the government to respond to allegations of violations of international law.
The OHCHR said in its letter: “We would like to bring to the attention of your Excellency’s Government the information we have received concerning growing discrimination and rising incidents of hate speech and incitement to violence against the Ahmadi religious minority in Pakistan, including attacks against places of worship and other acts of intimidation.”
The letter was submitted to Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
“We are deeply concerned about this series of violent attacks against the Ahmadi minority, which we have previously addressed in several communications that despite our requests for remedial actions from authorities, the safety of the Ahmadiyya minority continues to deteriorate.” the OHCHR letter said.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1766743/ahmad ... in-karachi
Imtiaz Ali Published July 25, 2023 Updated about 13 hours ago 0
A spokesperson for the Ahmadi community said vandals destroyed the minarets of the place of worship.
An Ahmadi place of worship was vandalized in Karachi’s Drigh Road area within the limits of Shah Faisal Colony, police and spokesperson for the community said on Tuesday.
Korangi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tariq Nawaz told Dawn.com that around four persons damaged the minarets on Monday.
He said that police had taken cognisance of the matter and asked a member of the community to lodge a first information report (FIR).
The senior officer said that a person identified as Bilal was in touch with the Shah Faisal Colony station house officer (SHO) till Monday night and officials had advised him to lodge a report.
He said that police had received an application regarding the vandalism, adding that the complainant stated that an FIR would be registered after consulting with the Ahmadi community.
Amir Mehmood, a spokesperson for the Ahmadi community, also said that an application for registering a FIR had been submitted to the police.
The spokesperson said around a dozen people had entered the place of worship at around 3:45pm on Monday and destroyed the minarets with hammers and put “hateful graffiti on the walls”.
He recalled that a few months ago, two places of worship in Saddar and Martin Quarters were vandalized. He said that FIRs were registered in both the cases but police had yet to inform them of the progress in either of them.
He said that the place of worship in Drigh Road had existed since Pakistan was created. “The government has utterly failed to provide security to Ahmadi places of worship,” Mehmood said.
Govt urged to provide security
Separately, a press release from the Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya Pakistan spokesperson called on the government to provide security to the community’s places of worship.
Strongly condemning the incident, the spokesperson said the community’s opponents had “crossed all limits of decency” and the “hate campaign against Ahmadis now knows no bounds”.
“As many as 10 Ahmadi places of worship have been attacked during the current year and so far, none of the aggressors have been held,” the press release said.
The spokesperson said Ahmadis were feeling “an extreme sense of insecurity” while living in their own homeland and the actions of hatemongers were ruining the country’s international image.
“It is high time that such hate mongers are put behind bars so they cannot undermine the fabric of religious harmony in the country any further.”
The spokesperson claimed that miscreants had “finalized plans to attack the Ahmadi places of worship” in various cities and towns across the country in Muharram, adding that announcements for such attacks were being openly made on social media platforms.
The press release said it was the government’s responsibility to arrange security for the community’s worship places so miscreants were unable to harm them.
Anti-Ahmadi drive invites UN bodies’ ire
The drive against the Ahmadi community, which has become a regular feature in Punjab, is not only bringing a bad name to the country, but also inviting the ire of UN bodies.
After a campaign last month to stop Ahmadis from offering sacrifice on Eidul Azha, the latest drive launched against the community involves demolition of the minarets of their places of worship. The drive is being spearheaded by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).
A poster floated by the social media wing of the TLP in Sarai Alamgir, a town near Jhelum, said: “From Shaandar Chowk to the Qadiani Centre, all minarets will be demolished.” The drive, the poster said, would commence at 10am on the 10th of Muharram (July 29) from the TLP’s office in Sarai Alamgir.
On July 14, the TLP pressured police into demolishing minarets of an Ahmadi place of worship in Jhelum. The party’s local chapter later announced that it would demolish minarets of all Ahmadi places of worship in the entire Jhelum district.
Some of these sites are more than a hundred years old.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed concern over the treatment of Ahmadis in Pakistan and asked the government to respond to allegations of violations of international law.
The OHCHR said in its letter: “We would like to bring to the attention of your Excellency’s Government the information we have received concerning growing discrimination and rising incidents of hate speech and incitement to violence against the Ahmadi religious minority in Pakistan, including attacks against places of worship and other acts of intimidation.”
The letter was submitted to Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
“We are deeply concerned about this series of violent attacks against the Ahmadi minority, which we have previously addressed in several communications that despite our requests for remedial actions from authorities, the safety of the Ahmadiyya minority continues to deteriorate.” the OHCHR letter said.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1766743/ahmad ... in-karachi
Re: Ahmadiyya's and Bahai's - Who are they?
Primary suspect arrested after 2 members of Ahmadi community shot dead in Mandi Bahauddin: police
Zaheer Abbas Sial Published June 8, 2024 Updated about 9 hours ago
Two members of the Ahmadiyya community were shot dead in Punjab’s Mandi Bahauddin on Saturday, according to the police, with the primary suspect arrested soon after along with the alleged murder weapon.
According to an incident report issued today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the victims were a 50-year-old man and another 25-year-old man, who were shot by unknown armed assailants.
It said the former was on his way back from offering prayers while the latter was on his way to the market when they were shot dead in the Saddullapur area of Phalia Police Circle.
Mandi Bahauddin District Police Officer (DPO) Ahmad Mohiuddin told Dawn.com that the main target killer was arrested along with the murder weapon from Saadullahpur, adding that he was involved in both shootings.
He said the suspect was transferred from Bhagat police station to the Saddar Circle police station under tight police security.
The report said that a large police force and DPO Mohiuddin were deployed at the scene after the incident and collected evidence from the crime scene.
It added that the police took both bodies into custody and moved them to the Phalia government hospital for a post-mortem analysis, after which they would be handed over to relatives.
It said the Punjab Forensic Science Agency was also notified about the incident.
Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar summoned a report on the incident from the Gujranwala regional police officer and ordered DPO Mohiuddin to form a special team to immediately arrest the culprits.
“The culprits should be immediately arrested and brought before the law. Appropriate punishment will be ensured,” IGP Anwar said.
“Ensuring justice for the bereaved families will be a priority,” he added.
Over the last few decades, Pakistan’s minority communities have borne the brunt of mob brutality, bomb attacks, arsons, lynchings and other forms of violence.
The president of the Ahmadiyya community in Bahawalpur’s Hasilpur district was shot dead by unknown assailants last month.
In March, police said they had arrested two suspected killers of a man belonging to the Ahmadiyya community.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1838629/prima ... din-police
Zaheer Abbas Sial Published June 8, 2024 Updated about 9 hours ago
Two members of the Ahmadiyya community were shot dead in Punjab’s Mandi Bahauddin on Saturday, according to the police, with the primary suspect arrested soon after along with the alleged murder weapon.
According to an incident report issued today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the victims were a 50-year-old man and another 25-year-old man, who were shot by unknown armed assailants.
It said the former was on his way back from offering prayers while the latter was on his way to the market when they were shot dead in the Saddullapur area of Phalia Police Circle.
Mandi Bahauddin District Police Officer (DPO) Ahmad Mohiuddin told Dawn.com that the main target killer was arrested along with the murder weapon from Saadullahpur, adding that he was involved in both shootings.
He said the suspect was transferred from Bhagat police station to the Saddar Circle police station under tight police security.
The report said that a large police force and DPO Mohiuddin were deployed at the scene after the incident and collected evidence from the crime scene.
It added that the police took both bodies into custody and moved them to the Phalia government hospital for a post-mortem analysis, after which they would be handed over to relatives.
It said the Punjab Forensic Science Agency was also notified about the incident.
Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar summoned a report on the incident from the Gujranwala regional police officer and ordered DPO Mohiuddin to form a special team to immediately arrest the culprits.
“The culprits should be immediately arrested and brought before the law. Appropriate punishment will be ensured,” IGP Anwar said.
“Ensuring justice for the bereaved families will be a priority,” he added.
Over the last few decades, Pakistan’s minority communities have borne the brunt of mob brutality, bomb attacks, arsons, lynchings and other forms of violence.
The president of the Ahmadiyya community in Bahawalpur’s Hasilpur district was shot dead by unknown assailants last month.
In March, police said they had arrested two suspected killers of a man belonging to the Ahmadiyya community.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1838629/prima ... din-police
Re: Ahmadiyya's and Bahai's - Who are they?
Several Ahmadis detained by police for violating Constitution: Gujranwala CPO
Imran Gabol Published June 21, 2024 Updated 2 minutes ago
Some people belonging to the Ahmadiyya community were detained by the police for violating the Constitution, Gujranwala City Police Officer (CPO) Rana Ayyaz Saleem said on Thursday.
Earlier this week, a member of the Ahmadiyya community was booked in Toba Tek Singh district, at the complaint of an official of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), for sacrificing a goat on Eidul Azha.
The first information reports (FIRs) were similar to the five registered across Punjab last year against the community for sacrificing animals.
Separately, two members of the Ahmadiyya community were shot dead in Mandi Bahauddin earlier this month.
The FIR filed on Monday, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was registered under Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Section 298-C of the PPC elaborates on the penalty for a person of the Ahmadiyya group calling themselves a Muslim or preaching or propagating their faith.
However, a 2022 Supreme Court judgment ruled that obstructing non-Muslims from practising their religion within the confines of their place of worship was against the Constitution.
Dawn.com correspondent Imran Gabol said that people from the community had held a meeting before Eidul Azha where they had accepted that the community would not celebrate the event publically, however, the agreement was violated.
According to Amir Mehmood, a spokesperson for the Jamaat Ahmadiyya in Pakistan, at least nine FIRs were registered across Punjab against members of the community.
Data collected by the spokesperson claimed that three FIRs were filed in Sheikhupura, while one each was filed in Gujranwala, Rahim Yar Khan, Toba Tek Singh and Sargodha.
In a conversation with Dawn.com today, CPO Saleem said the detainees were asked to not perform any ritual similar to Muslims, but the special branch and police security teams found some of them violating the law.
He said they had provided security to 16 Ahmadiyya worship places in Gujranwala where they freely observed their religious rituals, adding that the police had detained some to maintain the law and order while no animal was taken into custody by the police.
Saleem said the district administration had issued six-day detention orders for some Ahmadis, however, they had written to the district administration to issue their release orders as Eid had passed peacefully.
The CPO asserted the police would not allow anyone to violate the Constitution and disrupt the city’s law and order.
According to Mehmood, the spokesperson for the Jamaat Ahmadiyya in Pakistan, Punjab police had arrested a doctor from his community and had mistreated his family.
“His crime [was] that he was raising a three-month pet goat. Police arrested him on June 17 and his whereabouts are still unknown,” he said in a statement.
“His family is worried sick, running from pole to post. They visited multiple police stations but they have been denied access to their loved one,” the spokesperson said.
“A peaceful Ahmadi doctor is missing because police found a three-month-old baby goat at his home on Eid. How can police detain an innocent man without a charge and deny access to his family?” he asked.
He said that another man was detained by the police in Gujranwala without any arrest warrant or detention order, adding that the police had failed to provide any information on the detainee’s whereabouts to his family.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1840855/sever ... anwala-cpo
Imran Gabol Published June 21, 2024 Updated 2 minutes ago
Some people belonging to the Ahmadiyya community were detained by the police for violating the Constitution, Gujranwala City Police Officer (CPO) Rana Ayyaz Saleem said on Thursday.
Earlier this week, a member of the Ahmadiyya community was booked in Toba Tek Singh district, at the complaint of an official of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), for sacrificing a goat on Eidul Azha.
The first information reports (FIRs) were similar to the five registered across Punjab last year against the community for sacrificing animals.
Separately, two members of the Ahmadiyya community were shot dead in Mandi Bahauddin earlier this month.
The FIR filed on Monday, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was registered under Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Section 298-C of the PPC elaborates on the penalty for a person of the Ahmadiyya group calling themselves a Muslim or preaching or propagating their faith.
However, a 2022 Supreme Court judgment ruled that obstructing non-Muslims from practising their religion within the confines of their place of worship was against the Constitution.
Dawn.com correspondent Imran Gabol said that people from the community had held a meeting before Eidul Azha where they had accepted that the community would not celebrate the event publically, however, the agreement was violated.
According to Amir Mehmood, a spokesperson for the Jamaat Ahmadiyya in Pakistan, at least nine FIRs were registered across Punjab against members of the community.
Data collected by the spokesperson claimed that three FIRs were filed in Sheikhupura, while one each was filed in Gujranwala, Rahim Yar Khan, Toba Tek Singh and Sargodha.
In a conversation with Dawn.com today, CPO Saleem said the detainees were asked to not perform any ritual similar to Muslims, but the special branch and police security teams found some of them violating the law.
He said they had provided security to 16 Ahmadiyya worship places in Gujranwala where they freely observed their religious rituals, adding that the police had detained some to maintain the law and order while no animal was taken into custody by the police.
Saleem said the district administration had issued six-day detention orders for some Ahmadis, however, they had written to the district administration to issue their release orders as Eid had passed peacefully.
The CPO asserted the police would not allow anyone to violate the Constitution and disrupt the city’s law and order.
According to Mehmood, the spokesperson for the Jamaat Ahmadiyya in Pakistan, Punjab police had arrested a doctor from his community and had mistreated his family.
“His crime [was] that he was raising a three-month pet goat. Police arrested him on June 17 and his whereabouts are still unknown,” he said in a statement.
“His family is worried sick, running from pole to post. They visited multiple police stations but they have been denied access to their loved one,” the spokesperson said.
“A peaceful Ahmadi doctor is missing because police found a three-month-old baby goat at his home on Eid. How can police detain an innocent man without a charge and deny access to his family?” he asked.
He said that another man was detained by the police in Gujranwala without any arrest warrant or detention order, adding that the police had failed to provide any information on the detainee’s whereabouts to his family.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1840855/sever ... anwala-cpo
Re: Ahmadiyya's and Bahai's - Who are they?
UN experts urge halt to violence against Ahmadis in Pakistan
AFP Published July 25, 2024 Updated about 12 hours ago
United Nations experts on Thursday voiced grave concern at reports of surging discrimination and violence against Pakistan’s Ahmadiyya minority community, including extrajudicial killings and attacks on places of worship.
The Ahmadiyya sect has been persecuted for decades in Pakistan but threats and intimidation have risen in recent years.
“We are alarmed by ongoing reports of violence and discrimination against the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan,” said the eight independent experts, including the special rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions, on freedom of expression and on freedom of religion.
“Urgent measures are necessary to respond to these violent attacks and the broader atmosphere of hatred and discrimination which feeds it,” they said in a statement.
The experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, highlighted a number of specific incidents over recent months.
Those included the extrajudicial killing of two Ahmadis in Saad Ullah Pur on July 8 and the killing on March 4 of the president of the Ahmadiyya community in Bahawalpur district.
They also noted reports of an alarming number of attacks on Ahmadi places of worship and cemeteries since the beginning of the year, including some that had led to the serious injury of worshippers.
The statement also highlighted a number of alleged arbitrary arrests of Ahmadi worshippers over religious holiday periods “to obstruct their participation in their religious practices”.
There are around 500,000 Ahmadis in Pakistan according to their community leadership.
The Constitution has branded them non-Muslims since 1974, and a 1984 law forbids them from claiming their faith as Islamic or openly practising Islamic rituals.
“Ahmadis’ right to peacefully manifest their beliefs must be respected,” the experts insisted, warning that “judicial harassment serves to normalise violence against Ahmadis by non-state actors”.
They welcomed the National Assembly’s adoption last month of a resolution urging federal and provincial governments to ensure the safety and security of all Pakistani citizens including religious minorities.
But, they cautioned, “such good-faith efforts to counter discriminatory discourse will be ineffective unless they address its structural drivers, (including) blasphemy laws and discriminatory legal provisions”.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1847939/un-ex ... n-pakistan
AFP Published July 25, 2024 Updated about 12 hours ago
United Nations experts on Thursday voiced grave concern at reports of surging discrimination and violence against Pakistan’s Ahmadiyya minority community, including extrajudicial killings and attacks on places of worship.
The Ahmadiyya sect has been persecuted for decades in Pakistan but threats and intimidation have risen in recent years.
“We are alarmed by ongoing reports of violence and discrimination against the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan,” said the eight independent experts, including the special rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions, on freedom of expression and on freedom of religion.
“Urgent measures are necessary to respond to these violent attacks and the broader atmosphere of hatred and discrimination which feeds it,” they said in a statement.
The experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, highlighted a number of specific incidents over recent months.
Those included the extrajudicial killing of two Ahmadis in Saad Ullah Pur on July 8 and the killing on March 4 of the president of the Ahmadiyya community in Bahawalpur district.
They also noted reports of an alarming number of attacks on Ahmadi places of worship and cemeteries since the beginning of the year, including some that had led to the serious injury of worshippers.
The statement also highlighted a number of alleged arbitrary arrests of Ahmadi worshippers over religious holiday periods “to obstruct their participation in their religious practices”.
There are around 500,000 Ahmadis in Pakistan according to their community leadership.
The Constitution has branded them non-Muslims since 1974, and a 1984 law forbids them from claiming their faith as Islamic or openly practising Islamic rituals.
“Ahmadis’ right to peacefully manifest their beliefs must be respected,” the experts insisted, warning that “judicial harassment serves to normalise violence against Ahmadis by non-state actors”.
They welcomed the National Assembly’s adoption last month of a resolution urging federal and provincial governments to ensure the safety and security of all Pakistani citizens including religious minorities.
But, they cautioned, “such good-faith efforts to counter discriminatory discourse will be ineffective unless they address its structural drivers, (including) blasphemy laws and discriminatory legal provisions”.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1847939/un-ex ... n-pakistan