The Friday Times: The persecution of Ahmadis, Shias and other religious minorities has hurt the true essence of the secularist ideology of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who never envisioned creating a theocratic or religion-based state, says a first-time lawmaker in the newly elected National Assembly.
Most political parties would not endorse her comments, not even in the name of reconciliation. But Alizeh Iqbal Haider is among a group of young freshman parliamentarians who are poised to challenge Pakistan’s political norms.
“I agree that declaring Ahmadis non-Muslims was a wrong decision. The state has nothing to do with the religion of the people,” she said, referring to Jinnah’s famous speech of August 11, 1947.
Ironically, it was one of the most enlightened prime ministers of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who agreed under pressure from right-wing forces to introduce a constitutional amendment in 1977 to declare Ahmadis non-Muslims.
Categories: Ahmadis And Pakistan, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Anti Islam act by Muslims, Asia
Brave woman. May Allah enable her to stay on the path of brave honesty.
Indeed a very brave woman. May Allah protect her from the mullahs and like in Pakistan. I hope more politicians have the courage to follow her example and speak the truth.
Zafar
I am pleasantly surprised to read about Ms. A. I. Haider’s statements about Pakistan’s fateful decision in 1974 — declaring Ahmadis non-Muslim — having been a mistake. I hope and pray that brave legislators like Ms. Haider manage to stop Pakistan’s inexorable slide toward an abyss of anarchy and chaos.
Pakistan would do well to look around and contrast the spectacular progress that secular states such as Bangladesh and India have made in the past 39 years with its own, equally dramatic, deterioration in all measures of quality of national life.
Victory to all peacemakers worldwide!