The photo shows Pakistani Ahmadi community members gathering at their worship place after a suicide attack in Lahore on May 28, 2010. — AFP/File photo
Dawn: Sumaira Jajja: “It seems like time has stopped. I never thought I would bury my grandson, the same child who held my fingers as a toddler and learnt to walk,” said Nizam*.
An elderly gentleman, Nizam survived one of the deadliest attacks on minorities in Pakistan three years ago.
The attack, carried out in Lahore’s Model Town and Garhi Shahu localities simultaneously on May 28, 2010 against a group of unarmed Pakistanis, left 86 dead and over 150 men and children injured. The Punjabi Taliban took responsibility for the attacks.
And what exactly was the fault of the dead? They were Ahmadis.
Having been deemed ‘wajib-ul-qatl’ (deserving of death) by many in the country, Ahmadis are the only minority in Pakistan who have been hounded for their faith, with the laws of the land strengthening this discrimination.
“It was my grandson who held my hand and walked me through the gates that Friday. He got me water and then sat beside me praying,” Nizam recalled.
An elderly man, his frail hands shook heavily, more due to anxiety than old age, as he shared details of the day when all hell broke loose.
Categories: Ahmadis And Pakistan, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Anti Islam act by Muslims, Asia