stopthepersecution.org: Stop the Persecution of Ahmadis

TO: Rt Hon David Cameron MP, The Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister

30 YEARS OF STATE SPONSORED PERSECUTION IN PAKISTAN

30 years ago under General Zia, Pakistan enacted Ordinance XX that made it a criminal offence for an Ahmadi to call himself a Muslim – a ‘crime’ punishable by three years imprisonment. Pakistan subsequently amended its blasphemy laws under which Ahmadis and others could be sentenced to death simply on grounds of faith.

30 years on, these deplorable laws remain in force and have been used repeatedly for the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims, persecution that is sanctioned by the state.

Extremists have used these laws to justify violent attacks and the murder of Ahmadis and hundreds have been killed, tens of thousands forced to flee the country and millions live in fear. Even Ahmadi graves are attacked and bodies exhumed. This is persecution from the cradle to the grave.

Each day countless Ahmadis are denied their basic human rights. They are denied the right to life, the right to worship, the right to dignity after death and the right to vote. 30 years of state sponsored persecution is enough and must come to an end.

We urge you, as a friend of Pakistan, to raise these issues with the Government of Pakistan and urge it to repeal these horrific laws that are used to justify violence and murder against citizens of Pakistan.

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