Published: May 16, 2012

“Most of the danger comes from us,” said Majid Nawaz, founder of Khudi, at a seminar titled ‘Muslims and the Modern World  The State of the Muslim Ummah’. Young people being educated at “elite” schools and colleges were joining the extremists, he said.

“Terrorists are not just from slums – statistically, a disproportionate number of global jihadis come from a higher education background,” said Nawaz, who was formerly a member of the Hizbut Tahrir (HT). He quit the group to found Khudi, which works to counter extremism.

Nawaz said there was a difference between the political and the religious definitions of the word ‘ummah’. He said there was no contradiction between being a Pakistani and being a Muslim. Pakistanis could carry multiple identities, he said, owing to religious or social affiliations. “People themselves organically determine who they are, as a group or a nation,” he said.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

I wonder what the sentinels of the ‘fortress of Islam’ called Pakistan want to do about the fact that, in public places, one cannot distinguish an Ahmedi from a Muslim by his looks

A conference or meeting of Muslims where “Sunni, Shia, Wahabi, Barelvi, Deobandi…everyone is welcome” has to be as rare as a snow leopard in the Karakorams. But precisely such an invitation did the rounds via email in Sydney and beyond with the above welcoming words in the subject line.

The four-hour long conference, held in a Sydney town hall, rented from an avowedly secular city council, was organised by the Islamic Forum for Australian Muslims. While the invitation could have led one to think of it as an ‘inclusive’ Muslim conference, in fact the aim was to generate hatred against the Ahmedi minority sect, which was excommunicated by the Pakistani parliament (no less) in 1974 and by majority Muslim public opinion long before that. The persecution of this community has now extended to other Muslim countries, most notably Indonesia and Bangladesh.

The hate campaign against Ahmedis is particularly ironical, for their contribution to the creation and consolidation of Pakistan is very well known. Suffice it to mention here a few names: Sir Chaudhry Zafrullah Khan, Professor Abdus Salam, M M Ahmad, Lt-General Akhtar Abdul Malik, Lt-General Abdul Ali Malik and Maj-General Iftikhar Janjua.

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May 13, 2012

As a rejected son, how do you celebrate Mother’s Day? Who enjoys the breakfast tray? Who receives the flower bouquet?

That’s my story. But it’s not my biological mother who rejected me. It’s my motherland – Pakistan.

So on this Mother’s Day, let me have a heart to heart talk with you – my motherland. You don’t want to accept my love; that’s your choice. I have learned to deal with that. But please answer my questions, for I have lots of them.

Why did you abandon me? Why did you institutionalise hatred against me in schools, workplaces and houses of God? Why did you throw me at the heap of your putrid, discriminatory legal system? Why did you exhume my people and not even shed a tear? You were not my step-mother; then why did you treat me like Hansel and Gretel?

Only because I remained resolute to call myself an Ahmadi M _  _  _ _ _ ? See, you cannot even handle a hint of my identity. But isn’t it true motherland, that the father of our nation, Quaid-e-Azam, promised all children of Pakistan equal status and equal rights when the nation was born?

As for me, despite the fact that I moved to a foreign land, it was hard to move on. For days, I couldn’t eat or sleep well. For months, I worried about your weather. For years, I dreamed of your streets. And for over a decade, I pulled all nighters to watch your cricket matches, frantically praying for your success. I argued with my Indian friends – yes, there is nothing wrong with having Indian friends – how Pak-pride was not a fallacy.

There was an element of fallacy though, I now realise. Like other nations, you also served us the soup of patriotism, mixed with indoctrination. How you indoctrinated the nation to forget about the Munir commission report of 1953, how the textbooks programmed us to believe that we won the 1965 war, and how generations were brain washed in believing that a National Assembly has the right to copyright Islam. Just a few weeks ago, I gagged on that soup when I claimed that we won the 1965 war. After reviewing history books, encyclopedias, and YouTube clips, I threw up the contaminated ingredients of the soup. We did not win the 1965 war. The facts were clear.

But who cares about facts in Pakistan these days? Facts are dry. Propaganda is juicy. It is juicy to blame everything on a conspiracy theory. Go ahead. Blame me for being an “agent of the west who got an American visa on a plate.” Never mind the two decades of my hard work at school. Never mind the more than two million Pakistani Ahmadi residents, with no prospects of getting a visa, who are still facing daily rejection at your hands.

Motherland – I understand. You don’t appreciate this conversation. You are hurting too. So here is an analgesic; I still remember you. The Rockies remind me of Swat and the meat balls taste nothing like the koftas (remember, the secret nickname of my high school chemistry teacher was also kofta!) The Main Street brings flashbacks of Lahore’s Mall road and Jersey shore is not the same as Clifton.

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8 May, 2012

The Asian Human Rights Commission has had discussions with the leaders of the Ahmadis, a religious minority community of Islam, at Lahore, Punjab province. During these discussions it was found that they are denied access to practice their religion at local mosques and that Quranic scriptures engraved or painted on the walls of their own mosques are erased by Muslim extremists in the very presence of the police. According to Islamic law no Quranic verse may be removed however, in a country that is always ready to utilise blasphemy laws to their favour no action has been taken against either the extremists or the police.

Furthermore, during the discussion it was also revealed that being a minority community, they are denied the basic rights of the vote to elect their representatives and that under the present civil government they have been swiftly and effectively expelled from the whole electoral process.

Internationally, a democracy is defined by a government elected by the people. However, in Pakistan there is an exception to this rule in that Ahmadis on account of their faith and belief are excluded from the electoral system.

Prime Minister Z.A. Bhutto in 1974, not only declared Ahmadis non-Muslim in the country’s Constitution, he also introduced a change in the electoral system and allocated a few seats to religious minorities in the general assemblies. As Ahmadis did not accept the imposed status of being a non-Muslim minority, they never availed themselves of these seats.

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After declaring Ahmadiyya as Non Muslim, Pakistan solved all its problems, except of course electricity shortage. This was a deliberate conspiracy to make the Fort of Islam weak and to give in to great satanic designs of enemies of Pakistan.

Source: http://www.themuslimtimes.org/2012/05/countries/pakistan/gems-from-urdu-press-pakistan-electricity-shortage-a-qadiani-conspiracy

Monday, May 07, 2012

Much like Akbar the Great, the Mughal Emperor, Mehmet Fateh and Suleiman the Magnificent refused to give in to the whims of the Muslim clergy. Their courts were models of pluralism and heterodox ideas

The Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan made Ahmedis non-Muslims for the purposes of the law and constitution. Exclusivist and arguably ultra vires the scope of parliamentary power as it was, it did not impose any restrictions on the freedom of religion of Ahmedis, including their right to call themselves Muslims. To do so would have been a negation of Article 20 of the Constitution, which promises every citizen freedom to profess and propagate his religion.

Then in 1984 came Ordinance XX, which criminalised the very freedom the constitution bequeathed on Ahmedis as citizens of this country. Hitting at the root of the Ahmedis’ faith, the Ordinance took away the right to say salaam or even recite the Holy Quran. Ironically, Christian painters were given the task of whiting out Quranic verses on Ahmedi graves. It was forbidden for Ahmedis to call their places of worship mosques. They were forbidden to make any structures that remotely resembled a mosque. What, one wonders, does a mosque look like is anybody’s guess. Does the Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad look like a mosque? How about Ranjit Singh’s Marri? Does it not look like a mosque? In any event, some vague idea of what a mosque looks like was forbidden to Ahmedis.

Last Thursday, in Lahore, the Misri Shah police scratched out Quranic verses from an Ahmedi place of worship and destroyed parts of it to make it look less like a mosque. It reminded me of another incident not long ago in Switzerland where a ban on minarets for mosques was proposed. Ironically, that incident which had the entire Islamic world up in arms against the Swiss government pertained to an Ahmedi place of worship. Here Pakistan follows that fine Swiss tradition of forbidding religious freedom to a certain community and with a vengeance.

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Published on 5 May, 2012

A hoarding is installed behind the chhatri (flattened dome) at the entrance, so that the worship place does not look like a mosque. PHOTO: EXPRESS TRIBUNE

Two people had filed an application with the police, requesting that they register an FIR against the Ahmedis under the blasphemy laws – 298-C and 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code – “for depicting themselves as Muslims”.

The police on Wednesday had removed some tiles with the Kalma and Quranic verses from the building entrance. They had planned on tearing down the flattened dome as well but agreed to give Baitul Hamd administration a couple of days to ensure that any resemblance to a mosque was removed.

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Published on 7 May, 2012

LAHORE: The Urdu press and media are contributing to the hate campaign against Ahmedis by publishing “baseless stories,” the annual report, Persecution of Ahmedis in Pakistan during the year 2011 said. During 2011 more than 1,173 baseless stories against Ahmedis were published, the report added.

According to Jamaat Ahmedia spokesman Saleemuddin in 2011, Ahmadis were not allowed to hold a convention in Chenab Nagar (Rabwah), where 95 per cent of the population is Ahmedi. The community was also not allowed to hold any sports events openly, he said. On the other hand, he pointed out, anybody wanting to rally against the Jamaat Ahmedi had a free hand. They were also allowed to abuse and slander revered Ahmedi figures.

During 2011 Ahmadis were not allowed to build any places of worship anywhere in Pakistan. At some places, the police forcibly stopped the construction, Saleemuddin said. Speaking at the launch of the annual report on May 2, he said that the Constitution allowed every citizen to freely practice their faith and thus to build their places of worship. The report says, six Ahmedis were murdered and 31 had survived assassination attempts (made because of their faith). After the promulgation of the 1984 anti-Ahmadiyya Ordinance, 210 Ahmedis had been killed because of their faith. There were 1,008 cases pending against Ahmedis in courts throughout the country.

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LAHORE: The hate campaign against Ahmadis reached new heights in Pakistan and even innocent children are not spared now.

These were the findings of an annual report, the Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan, released by the Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan on Wednesday. The report said, “There was an open hate campaign against Ahmadis in Pakistan and young children studying in nursery grade classes are not even spared from this horrific discrimination and hatred.” Six Ahmadis lost their lives because of the fact that they were Ahmadis and more than 20 were injured in assassination attempts. “The hate filled posters; stickers, fliers and calendars were openly distributed across Pakistan,” it added. The report specifically mentioned the hate campaigns faced by the Ahmadis in Faisalabad where fliers and leaflets were openly distributed calling people to kill Ahmadis. The government and security agencies failed to take any concrete action against such actions. Punishing the culprits behind these leaflets and hate material was a far cry. The extremists have increased efforts to isolate the community and the campaign to encourage people to boycott Ahmadis and Ahmadi products was also a major issue. Expelling children from educational institutions also increased and even kids studying in nursery were not spared. Ahmadi children faced expulsion from schools or outright refusal by the educational institutions to admit them.

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After receiving a complaint about the place of worship in Sultanpura, Kachhupura, a large contingent of Misri Shah police visited it on Wednesday and told the Ahmedis they had a day to make the place look less like a mosque, failing which a case would be registered against them under the ‘Anti-lslamic Activities of Qadiani Group, Lahori Group and Ahmadis (Prohibition and Punishment) Ordinance’ of 1984.

The policemen etched out the verses at the main gate and entrance to the main hall. They were about to tear down the minarets, about five feet high, at the main gate too, but local Ahmedis convinced them to give them a day to cover them as demolishing them would have damaged the whole structure.

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Nizarat Umoor E Aama

Ph: 047-6212459   Fax: 047-6215459   Email: press.section@saapk.org

PRESS RELEASE

The open hate campaign against Ahmadis reached new heights even innocent children was not spared. 6 Ahmadis murdered and 31 survived assassination attempts of because of their faith.

After the promulgation of 1984 anti Ahmadiyya Ordinance 210 Ahmadis have been murdered because of their faith. There are 1008 cases pending in various courts throughout Pakistan.

In 2011 the Pakistani Urdu press continued the publication of baseless news stories. During the year more than 1173 news stories on baseless propaganda against Ahmadis were published.

Jama’at Ahmadiyya has published the report on persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan and the press report for 2011 about Pakistani Urdu press propaganda against Ahmadis.

Rabwah (Press Release): Jama’at Ahmadiyya Pakistan has released the persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan report for 2011. The spokes person for Jama’at Ahmadiyya Pakistan Mr. Saleem ud Din said “there was an open hate campaign against Ahmadis in Pakistan and young children studying in nursery grade classes were not even spared from this horrific discrimination and hatred”. Six Ahmadis lost their lives because of the fact that they were Ahmadis and more than 20 were targets of assassination attempts. Mr. Saleem ud Din also informed that hate filled posters; stickers, fliers and calendars were openly distributed across Pakistan. He specifically mentioned the hate campaigns faced by the Ahmadis in Faisalabad where fliers and leaflets were openly distributed calling anyone to kill Ahmadis in open. The government and security agencies failed to take any concrete action against such actions. Punishing the culprits behind these leaflets and hate material is a far cry.

The extremists have increased efforts to isolate the community and the campaign to encourage people to boycott Ahmadis and Ahmadi products was also a major issue. Expelling children from educational institutions also increased where young kids studying in nursery level classes were not spared. Ahmadis children faced expulsion from schools or outright refusal by the educational institutions to admit them. The government seemed to succumb under the pressure from extremists and decided to look other way while these acts of hate and terror were carried out.

All the acts perpetrated after the 1984 Anti Ahmadiyya Ordinance are against the fundamentals of the constitution of Pakistan. The post 1984 era for Ahmadis is marked by an increasingly difficult period for Ahmadis. Mr. Saleem ud Din urged the government to consider these Ahmadiyya specific laws and ensure that Ahmadis in Pakistan are given equal rights as any other citizen. Ahmadis are facing legal, social, cultural and political discrimination because of these laws and these are against the very base of our society where equal rights of individual are prime. Mr. Saleem ud Din said “there has been 210 deaths after the imposition of these discriminatory laws in 1984, 254 assassination attempts on various Ahmadis, 23 Ahmadi places of worship were demolished and 28 were sealed by the administration. 16 places of worship were forcefully taken over, 29 graves of deceased Ahmadis were opened and desecrated and 57 Ahmadis were refused burial in common graveyard.

Mr. Saleem ud Din further added that during 2011 Ahmadis were not allowed to build place of worship anywhere in Pakistan. At many places police forcefully stopped the construction of places of worship. As a matter of fact according to the constitution of Pakistan every citizen is free to practice their faith and build their places of worship. Just because of prejudice Ahmadi businesses are targeted and Ahmadi officials in government and private sector are victimised.

According to Saleem ud Din in 2011 as well, Ahmadis were not allowed to hold any convention in their centre Rabwah, where 95% population belongs to Ahmadiyya community. Sports events were not spared either and the community was not allowed to hold any type of sports events openly. On the other hand those against the Jama’at Ahmadiyya were given a free hand to hold rallies whenever, wherever and however they want. They were also given a free hand to abuse and slander revered Ahmadi figures.

The spokes person of Jama’at Ahmadiyya Pakistan called upon the moderate and conscious circles of Pakistani community to urge the government to take affective measures to curtail the prejudice on the basis of faith so that Pakistan could be rid of sectarianism and prejudice and Pakistan could become a prosperous and peaceful country.###

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 04/25/2012 7:59 AM

A leader of the country’s second-largest Muslim organization says the Ahmadiyah sect are members of Islamic society despite some of their beliefs differing from more mainstream forms of the religion.

Muhammadiyah secretary Abdul Muti said that acknowledgment was based solely on the will to maintain good relationships with Ahmadi counterparts.

“Muhammadiyah acknowledges Muhammad as the final prophet, which is rather different to them. But that doesn’t change our will to maintain good relationships and improve future cooperation with them,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He said Muhammadiyah would stand against any attempt to attack Ahmadi followers after savage displays of violence by a minority of hard-liners in the past five years.

“The government should take this matter seriously. Those who have attacked Ahmadi followers and their assets should be firmly punished,” he said.

Separately, Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said that Muhammadiyah has never called for the disbandment of Ahmadiyah, despite the group often declaring that the religious sect was heretical.

“We have been telling our followers to disregard anyone who believes that there was another prophet after Muhammad. However, we are against anyone who physically attacks Ahmadi followers,” he said.

The two largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia, the Nahdlatul Ulama and the Muhammadiyah say the disagreement with the Ahmadiyah view on the role of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad should not be displayed through violence. (asa/dic).

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/04/25/muslim-figure-says-ahmadiyah-still-part-islam.html

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

LONDON: Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office drew a bleak picture of Pakistan’s human rights record on Monday and continued to bracket Pakistan amongst the countries of “serious concerns” along with Afghanistan, China, Iran, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Foreign Secretary William Hague released the 2011 Human Rights and Democracy report on Monday, only a week before the arrival of Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani for an official visit of the UK.

The contents of the report threaten to overshadow the visit will definitely cause a lot of unease in Pakistan’s diplomatic and political circles. The report heaped embarrassment on the civilian government of Pakistan People’s Party while declaring: “Concerns persist about the primacy of parliament within the Pakistani system, especially the extent of civilian government control over the military and intelligence services, and the threat of the government being undermined through extra-constitutional means.”

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THE enemy within has been nibbling away at Pakistan’s vitals with vastly increased ferociousness and there is little evidence to suggest that the monster is being tamed.

The latest wave of sectarian violence in Gilgit-Baltistan has been going on for more than six weeks. On the last day of February, 18 people belonging to the territory were brutally shot dead after being forced out of buses in the Kohistan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

After the victims’ identity had been established with the help of their national identity cards they were lined up and gunned down by a firing squad whose members were wearing military uniforms. The grisly operation had obviously been planned well in advance and bore the stamp of professionalism. The authorities made some noise but failed to nab the killers and eventually took refuge under the excuse that the culprits had crossed over the national frontier.

They were proved wrong on April 3 when the monster of intolerance raised its head in Chilas. Again a large band of armed militants stopped several buses on the Karakoram Highway and picked out members of the Shia community for slaughtering. This time the authorities chose to display their armed might. The army was called in and a nine-day long curfew was imposed. Whether this had any effect on the perpetrators of the sectarian strife is not known; what is known is the unbearable hardship caused to the curfew-bound population.

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Monday, 16 Apr 2012 10:18 pm

Hundreds of people are killed in the name of religion

Many moons ago in a different continent a Pakistani acquaintance asked me, very seriously, whether she should attend the wedding of her friend’s daughter. Let me explain.

My acquaintance, her friend and their families had known each other for the best part of ten years since moving from Pakistan. In an immigrant’s life, particularly in countries far from home where fellow countrymen are few and far between, such friendships tend to develop faster and deeper than at home. The children of these two families had grown up together and were closer than they would be to their own cousins back in Pakistan. And yet this question arose because the news that the other family was Ahmadi had only recently burst like a thunderclap upon that circle of expatriates. My acquaintance worried that attending an Ahmadi’s marriage would compromise her iman.

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April 17, 2012, Dawn.com

Religious persecution of people from Ahmadiyya community is not a new development in Pakistan. Ahmadis have long been marginalised from the time when they were declared non-Muslims in the amendment introduced in 1973’s Constitution. Since then, they have been facing the wrath of many Muslims who have fundamental views and refuse to trade, dine and even sit with them.

Whether it is about banning a certain juice brand, expelling Ahmadi students from universities or failure to recognise the only Pakistani Nobel Laureate, the hatred fuelled by religious clerics knows no boundaries.

Academic institutions remain an arena of conflicting views, hence often turning into another platform for religious fundamentalists to brainwash impressionable minds.

The University of Sargodha, which is in close proximity to Rabwah, is one of a very few universities which houses and educates students from Ahmadiyya community. The university has reportedly been a congenial institute where administration and management support students from different beliefs and schools of thought. However, ubiquity of miscreants, who use religion for their political interests, has contaminated the otherwise pleasant environment.

“I received a text message from my best friend, a week back, which said we should stop being friends because you are an Ahmadi and my allegiance with you is not considered appropriate within the parameters of my religion,” said a student of University of Sargodha.

“A couple of days ago, during a laboratory session, some students disrupted the lecture and started preaching how Ahmadis are non-Muslims and are wajib-ul-qatal (eligible to be killed),” said another student on condition of anonymity.

According to a student, the so-called religious sermon took place in the presence of a teacher, which signified his involvement in the ‘brainwashing’ and ‘hate speech campaign’ against the Ahmadiyya community.

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Why do we have a “religion box” on our passport anyway? DESIGN: JAHANZAIB HAQUE

The National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA) refusal to change MPA Rana Mahmood’s religion from “Islam” to “Christianity” has many boxed in.

A plethora of questions have arisen. Is this a human rights violation? Will Mahmood be considered an apostate if his records were to reflect that he left Islam? How can you change someone’s faith with a stroke of a pen?

But no one is talking about the real question: Why do we have a “religion box” on our legal documents anyway?

Say that and you essentially open Pandora’s Box. After all, in a 97% Muslim majority country, what good can come out of knowing someone’s religion? What are we really trying to achieve except demonising, harassing, and isolating the 3% of Pakistan’s Hindu, Ahmadi, Christian and other minorities who have made equal if not more sacrifices for the creation and preservation of Pakistan?

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April 5th, 2012

Every time I gripped my pen to write about the most sickening murder, imagery of deceased Master Abdul Qudoos would incapacitate my fingers to paralysis and my senses to numbness. I, too, am considerably cognizant of my disability to meet with the requisites of this very sore subject.

The spokesman of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – who is not deemed a reliable enough source by a bunch of human rights activists-cum-journalists – reported;

“… today, a well-known and respected Ahmadi, Mr Master Abdul Qudoos Ahmad (43), died succumbing to brutal police torture in Rabwah. Few months ago MuhammadYousuf a stamp (deed) paper seller from Nusrat Abad was murdered and police on the basis of suspicion illegally arrested Master Abdul Qudoos. Police made him subject to inhuman life threatening torture, which resulted in loss of his life. When Master Abdul Qadoos body could not take further torture his relatives were blackmailed to take him and he was released after taking signature on plain paper. Master Abdul Qudoos sahib was admitted to local hospital where doctors tried to save his life in vain. He died due to severe internal injuring and excessive loss of blood. He died today on Friday 30 March 2012. A widow, 4 kids and old parents survived Master Abdul Qudoos…”

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April 14, 2012

THE death of master Abdul Qudoos Ahmad is alarming. He was kept behind bars for a month and a half and tortured.

It is time we stood up and raised our voice against cruelty lest we have dozens of Abdul Qudoos getting their heads chopped off irreproachably.

Source: http://dawn.com/2012/04/14/death-of-a-teacher/

Published: April 11, 2012

There was a moment last December when the mirage shimmered and briefly dissipated for many Imran Khan supporters. Amidst a tsunami of Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP) and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba/Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) flags, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Vice President Ijaz Chaudhry thundered on stage at the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) rally in Lahore. The special message that he delivered from his quaid, Imran Khan, touched the usual conspiracies and clichés about India, America and the Pakistani government. Yet, many PTI supporters were taken aback by their party rubbing shoulders with sectarian murderers and terrorists. Khan himself was questioned on sharing a platform with the likes of JuD and SSP. Unfazed, Khan simply said it was his duty to “engage” with everyone no matter how extreme.

The mirage reconstructed itself. PTI acolytes parroted the party line. The PTI was not associating with terrorists. It was “engaging” fringe elements to wean them into the mainstream. This rhetoric is attractive without being accurate.

Consider. In May 2011, PTI leaders attended a rally with JuD that condemned the killing of Osama bin Laden, and pronounced him –– a man who had declared war on Pakistan –– a “Martyr of Islam.” PTI leaders also attended rallies with JuD and other extremist organisations on January 30, 2011 and October 29, in favour of Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, and to express admiration for Salman Taseer’s assassin. Khan’s message, delivered by Ijaz Chaudhry, was one of endorsement. He called Pakistan’s blasphemy laws “divine,” foreclosing any reform.

Further, in April, 2011 Khan personally visited the Darul-Uloom Haqqania to seek support for his anti-drone dharnas – the campaign many see as a watershed in his rise. Popularly known as “the University of Jihad,” the Dar-ul-Uloom is accused by the Federal Investigation Agency of being the launching pad for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. It has schooled the Taliban’s top leadership, including the Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, who derives his name from his proud affiliation with his alma mater. And Khan’s “engagement” there? Extolling the virtues jihad as a mandatory obligation – the very ideology the would-be jihadis are indoctrinated with.

Read more:

LONDON, 10 April 2012

PRESS RELEASE

WORLD MUSLIM LEADER SALUTES FAITH AND BRAVERY OF MARTYRED ABDUL QUDOOS AHMAD

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said that a conspiracy to defame the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat was behind martyrdom

During the Friday Sermon delivered from the Baitul Futuh Mosque in London on 6 ^th April 2012, the worldwide Head and Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad spoke in detail about the brutal torture inflicted by police in Pakistan on Mr Abdul Qudoos Ahmad, an Ahmadi Muslim school teacher, which led to his martyrdom. His Holiness made clear that this was no ordinary killing or martyrdom, but in fact there was a huge conspiracy behind it and it was a major effort to falsely defame the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat.

Presenting details of the case, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad informed that on 10 February 2012, Abdul Qudoos Ahmad, who was also the President of the Nusrat Abad chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Rabwah, was arrested in relation to a murder that had taken place some months earlier. His arrest, came in spite of the fact that there was no evidence whatsoever linking him to the crime.

Abdul Qudoos Ahmad was kept in police custody until 26 March 2012 even though no charges were ever brought against him. During this period he was tortured in the most inhumane and depraved manner as police repeatedly tried to get him to sign a document falsely incriminating and implicating senior Ahmadi Muslim administrative officials. He was beaten, he was hung by his ankles upside down, heavy wooden rollers were rolled over him, he was sleep deprived and he was rarely fed. He was repeatedly advised that if he signed the document implicating the senior Ahmadi Muslim officials he would be released immediately.

Praising his faith and bravery, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said that Abdul Qudoos Ahmad never wavered from the truth and refused to sign any such document. His Holiness said:

“O Qudoos, we salute you! That you bore extreme and brutal torture but did not let the honour and name of our Community suffer in any way. By sacrificing your life, you have saved our Community from a very grave tribulation.”

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad also sent a strong message to the opponents of Ahmadiyyat. He said that their nefarious and evil plans could never bear fruit because the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat was supported by God Almighty Himself. That is why the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian received the revelation ‘ I have planted the tree of thy honour with My own hand.’ His Holiness added that the fact that the Jamaat had now spread to 200 countries across the world, with millions of members all united at the hand of Khilafat was in itself a great proof of the truth of Ahmadiyyat and a fulfilment of that grand revelation.

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“The strength, the spread and the success of our Community can never be stopped by our opponents. But our opponents should remember that when the Divine Power is forced to take action then they will not be able to escape His Wrath. At such a time no Mullah or cleric and no law will ever come to their aid. Indeed the so-called religious scholars, who cruelly justify their acts in the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) will stand at the front of the queue amongst those against whom God’s Sentence will pass.”

End

Further Information: press@ahmadiyya.org.uk

Note:

Please note a Press Release about the martyrdom of Mr Master Abdul Qudoos was issued on 1 ^st April 2012 in which further details about this incident are given. It is available from Alislam.org/press

In a statement released here on Tuesday, the alliance demanded a judicial inquiry into the death of Abdul Quddoos Ahmed, who allegedly died of wounds inflicted by Chenab Nagar police during several weeks in detention.

The ATA Pakistan, which described itself as an alliance of civil society groups, said that the minorities had been socially and institutionally marginalised and there were a growing number of cases of them being tortured by the police.

Read more:

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Staff Report

LAHORE: The Anti-torture Alliance Pakistan (ATA-Pk) and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Tuesday condemned the torturous murder of a schoolteacher by the Chenab Nagar Police a few days ago.

They called for a judicial inquiry into the murder.

According to details, the Chenab Nagar Police detained and tortured to death Abdul Qudoos Ahmad, a schoolteacher and president of the Nusratabad chapter of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. Ahmad (43) was taken into custody by the police on February 10 and was kept in a private torture cell until March 26. He remained in police custody for 35 days without any charges being laid against him and was not officially arrested. He was forced to confess to the murder of Muhammad Yousuf, a stamp-paper seller from Nusratabad. The man was murdered a few months ago. Chenab Nagar Police Station House Officer (SHO) Khadim Hussain registered a case against sub-inspectors, Shujaat Ali and Manazar Ali, under sections 302, 148, 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

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Police of Pakistan, especially Punjab Police, is no doubt a dumb and insane police who didn’t have any sense and love for humanity. Master Abdul Qudoos Ahmad, 43, a school teacher was detained by the police in the first week of February in connection with the murder of Muhammad Yousuf, a stamp-paper seller from the Nusrat Abad area, Chenab Nagar. He was brutally tortured during interrogations, causing severe internal injuries. Later, the police released Qudoos on 26th of March 2012 and threatened him to hush up the matter. He was admitted to a local hospital by his relatives where he died due to excessive loss of blood on 30th of March 2012. His name was never entered in any F.I.R nor in any Challan where the police mentioned that they arrested Qudoos for interrogation. They arrested him on his own will and pressurized him to admit the murder of Muhammad Yousuf . When he didn’t admit, the police beat him very severely and brutally like animals. What police local S.H.O said that Master Abdul Qudoos might have died of some fatal disease.

Now, where is the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan? Why does not he take any suo moto action against this brutal action of Punjab Police? Where are the high officials of Police? Will Punjab Police always be a gangster who, take away any body and torture the innocent people without any cause? There come daily lots of Master Abdul Qudoos Ahmad and tortured by these wild dogs. Nobody knows who will stand against them? Who will show the right path of humanism? Who will take action against their acts? Alas! We live in Pakistan.

—Lahore

Source: http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=149482

Sunday, April 08, 2012

A ray of hope became visible to the families of missing persons in Balochistan as a result of the Chief Justice’s (CJ’s) hearings at the Quetta Registry of the Supreme Court these days. On Saturday, the CJ felt constrained to remark during the proceedings that there was no difference between human beings and animals in Balochistan where mutilated bodies were found on a daily basis. The CJ thought he should stay in Quetta for a month to address the situation. On the three-member bench’s insistence, four out of seven persons ordered to be produced before the court were miraculously ‘recovered’ out of thin air. As is the pattern in the province, the seven had been missing since being picked up in a raid in Quetta. The police had been lying through their teeth before the court that they had no information about the missing persons. The CJ ordered the suspension of the concerned SHO and his arrest for trying to mislead the court. Since the police seemed to have responded to the court’s threat to act against even the highest police officers, there is reasonable optimism that the other three missing persons too will be produced on Monday in accordance with the court’s strict instructions. While the SC deserves praise for its unflinching determination to do justice in a clear case of the authorities dissembling, lying and covering up their excesses against citizens, the court too seems to have realised what an uphill task it is confronted with when it comes to accounting for the thousands still missing, a mission harder than extracting blood from a stone.

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