What is there left to say when one hears of yet another murderous attack against a member of the persecuted Ahmedi community? That their relentless suffering is being perpetrated in a country they call home has become so commonplace by now, we hardly even call it tragic. The latest victim was Dr Mubashar Ahmad Khosa of Mirpurkhas in Sindh, who was shot dead by two unknown assailants on Monday. He was at his private clinic when the killers gunned him down as though he was less than human. Dr Khosa was a very respected member of his community, known as a man who helped people, tended to patients with utmost love and care, and was not caught in any controversy at all. His only crime? He was an Ahmedi and, in today’s Pakistan, that is enough to get you killed.
A sinister pattern is emerging when it comes to targeting the Ahmedi community. Those shining stars who are contributing to society, providing relief and care to people irrespective of their sect or faith, are the ones being killed off systematically, one by one. In May this year, Dr Mehdi Ali, a prominent cardiac surgeon, who regularly travelled from the US to Rabwah in Punjab to set up a hospital there and provide state-of-the-art care in the medical field for people, was shot dead. His death hit people in Pakistan hard. This is a double tragedy; not only are such murders being allowed to continue unpunished, it is taking away people who can actually contribute towards uplifting the country. What better way to get this genocide on its feet than to deprive the country of those most needed?
What an irony. Pakistan was created for the Muslim minority in India so that they could realise their full potential and live without fear of persecution and strife. However, we are now the tyrant society. We have virtually disenfranchised the Ahmedis and are now eliminating them through cold-blooded murder. This is a lot like what the Israelis, who were once persecuted by the Nazis, are doing to the Palestinians. Are we proud of this kind of home grown apartheid? This not just a sectarian crime, it is a crime against humanity and must be seen by the authorities as such. In July this year, we saw an angry mob scorch Ahmedi homes in a residential colony in Gujranwala because of rumours of alleged blasphemy. This is no joke. We need to ensure that the Ahmedis, our citizens, are made to feel secure in a country they call home.
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