Editor ‘s note: Heading is mine.
Source: The Daily Times
VIEW: The weight of persecution by Aisha Fayyazi Sarwari
Pakistan has seemingly ensured that no Ahmedi demographic, including the dead, are spared the harsh reminder that they do not belong
“That looks very biblical,” I said out loud while approaching the place Ahmedis call their sanctuary, Rabwa. Incidentally, the name of the city was changed by the state to Chenabnagar, because Rabwa translated to ‘land of God’ and divinity and its access was prohibited for Ahmedis. I wanted to observe what is it like for them living banished in their own country, with their mosques attacked, children put on non-Muslim lists on result sheets, voters added on separate voter lists and their graves desecrated. Pakistan has seemingly ensured that no Ahmedi demographic, including the dead, are spared the harsh reminder that they do not belong.
It really did look like one of those mountains where a possible burning bush would appear. Accompanied by my family, we stopped and asked a person who had set up camp on one of the roads how one got to the headquarters. He told us where to go and then took down the car number in a dog-eared old register. He could possibly be the Ahmedi Jamaat representative, but was more likely to be an intelligence officer. They have deployed men to keep under surveillance their own citizens, perhaps because the ace organisation has already successfully rid the country of terrorism, and had to put its overstaffing to some use.
While waiting at a street corner for the host to guide us to the guest house, I saw a man with a signature Jinnah cap riding a bike purposefully and a few young women in burkas got off to photocopy their examination notes. Their disposition was conservative. We drove by international heart centres and hospitals.
Categories: Ahmadis And Pakistan, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Asia