Dawn: With the Sharifs now in power, much is being said and written about the main issues PML-N needs to address after taking over the reins. Militancy, a failing economy and the energy crisis remain on top of the agenda, followed by issues like development projects, health and education.
But then, there are issues stacked up on the shelves unattended, which face reluctance and hesitance on part of politicians – and on top of that list are the issues faced by religious minorities.
The Ahmadi community decided to boycott the elections citing reasons of unequal treatment as citizens of Pakistan in the polling process. This meant that around 200,000 members of the community from across the country refused to support any party. In the meantime, while much was being promised in the campaigns of election favourites, neither camp spoke for the Ahmadi community, or for the 200,000 votes that went in the bin.
“It was really sad to see that the politicians didn’t bother to ask us for voting for them, we are Pakistanis after all. We want to be part of the community; we wanted to participate in this process, we participated in the Pakistan movement. How does it feel when you become an alien within your society; I can’t explain this,” said Saleemuddin, the spokesman for the Jamaat-i-Ahmadiyya.
Categories: Ahmadis And Pakistan, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Asia