Dawn: by Zofeen Ibrahim: Two years ago on May 28, eighty-six members of the Ahmadiyya community were massacred in their places of worship in Lahore, during the Friday congregation. Since then, an all-out war seems to have been declared against them with the oppressors becoming more vitriolic and aggressive.
“Since the extremists apply their rule of death for apostasy, Ahmadis are the first to be targeted. Their persecution will increase by wider margins, if the extremists grow stronger,” warns rights activist I.A. Rehman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s ambassador to the US cannot agree more. She calls the persecution of this community “unconscionable”.
“Violence and the advance of bigotry, prejudice and hate against minorities have never really been met with the resolve needed to remove impunity from the social equation in Pakistan; instead, what we see is an expansion in the space for religious and sectarian apartheids, which has led now to heinous acts of brutality, exclusion and ‘otherisation’ of many, particularly Ahmadis,” she declares, adding, “This is a dangerous trend that conflates national identity with religion.
Editors note: Additional heading is mine.
Categories: Ahmadis And Pakistan, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Asia, Martyrdom
A few days before i saw an interview of Itzaz Ahsan on tv. The interviewer asked him” under the present conditions how long do you think Pakistan can exist in this shape? I was not astonished to hear from his mouth that if the law and order and the politicl situation remains the same Pakistan may not exit after twelve to thirteen years. He is a sesoned politician and strong believer in democratic values. He has very well made this assessment. The country where 239 religous organisations are let lose to destroy the peace and harmoney in the name of islam how long can she bear this? I am not the fan of Pervaiz Musharaf but sometimes the fools also utter the words of wisdom. In his farewel address he said,”Pakistan ka allah he hafiz.” And I second it.