In 2014 again Ahmadis continued to face violation of their basic human rights and 11 Ahmadis were killed because of their faith.
The year 2014 saw one of the worst attacks of its kind in Gujranwalla where a vigilante mob burnt houses and shops of Ahmadis and suffocated to death three Ahmadi woman and children.
As usual the state decided to turn a blind eye to this persecution and violence and did nothing to curtail it or stop such crimes and violations.
Regardless of what the government’s stance against hate literature or speech is before or after Peshawar APS attack the hate literature continued to be published and distributed openly with impunity against Ahmadis. In such pamphlets, banners and magazine or conferences people were openly asked to go out and kill Ahmadis and take matters into their own hands.
The important question is how such crimes could be committed without active government support? If not then what government did or is doing?
The government is yet to return nationalised Ahmadi educational institutions to its rightful owners because it is scared of some miscreants.
The Pakistani Urdu press continued to publish stories and news against Ahmadis and in 2014 more than two thousands baseless news and stories were published that has little to do with facts and more to spread wrong propaganda.
Jamaat Ahmadiya Pakistan has issued its annual report on persecution and Urdu press review.
The spokesperson of Jamaat Ahmadiya Pakistan Saleemuddin issued the annual persecution report for 2014 and said that in 2014 the hatred and persecution against Ahmadis increased and violence took a new shape. 11 Ahmadis lost their lives because of their faith and this year more deaths were in Punjab. In Punjab’s city of Gujranwalla a vigilante mob burnt the properties of Ahmadis and killed three innocent humans including a woman and two children. The worst part but a norm in such crimes against Ahmadis was police presence that stood there doing nothing to protect the Ahmadis. As usual police and state of Pakistan failed on many occasions to protect the Ahmadi lives.
Saleemuddin said that the campaign to boycott Ahmadis socially has moved from the mosques and conferences to common man. More and more stickers and posters are visible now across Pakistan where increasing number of shops and public transport vehicles such as taxis have such stickers to stop Ahmadis from coming to their businesses. Such stickers openly claim that Ahmadis are not allowed to enter these shops and taxis and it is wrong and forbidden to do business with them. It’s happening right under the nose of government in Islamabad and Lahore and many others cities and towns of Pakistan. The hate campaign against Ahmadis is spread across Pakistan but government is doing nothing to even address the issue let alone do something. It’s not just limited to living but dead Ahmadis are not spared as in Chak 96GB in Jaranwalla district Faisalabad where uniformed police took hammers and broke tomb stones of Ahmadi graves and desecrated their graves. We have yet to see the iron hand of law and its enforcement agencies in curtailing and curbing miscreants on the other hand.
The spokesperson said that Pakistani media’s attitude towards Ahmadis is seriously questionable where it is their responsibility to give true and accurate news to its readers and viewers but it fails to do so. It is also their responsibility not to publish any hate material or news based on bias and hatred of a community. Yet around 2000 news stories and articles were published against Ahmadis in 2014 some of them containing grave threats. This is just an estimate from newspapers that are accessible to Jamaat’s press office. The real number is much higher and threats very serious.
The electronic media’s bigotry is visible from the fact that Pakistani news channels “ Aaj Tv” that airs BBC Urdu’s tv program Sairbeen refused to air the program on 31 July 2014 that had a report about Gujranwalla incident in it. It has also refused to air another program the contained a report about Ahmadis during same year.
When the government of Pakistan and all its political and military leadership unanimously decided to lift the moratorium on death penalty and there was consensus against terrorists the apologists of such terrorists were given free airtime on a morning show on Geo tv. The host of this program, a so called religious scholar allowed the participants to spew hatred against Ahmadis and encouraged them to show that Ahmadis are behind all this and then endorsed their views clearly. Yet nobody raised an eye brow and the media regulator PEMRA did nothing what so ever to even send a show cause notice to channel or this host.
The spokesman said that Ahmadiya specific discriminatory laws are against basic human rights and international agreements that Pakistan is a signatory to. They are also against the Pakistan that its founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah created. These laws are increasingly becoming a tool in the hands of miscreants and militants. It’s high time that government should end this bigotry and discrimination.
After the notorious 1984 anti Ahmadiya Ordinance till 31 December 2014, 249 Ahmadis have been killed because of their faith. 317 Ahmadis were target of assassination attempts, 27 Ahmadi places of worship were destroyed, 31 were sealed illegally by authorities and 52 places of worship construction were stopped. 39 Ahmadi dead bodies were desecrated after their burial when the graves were dug out. 65 Ahmadis were not allowed to be buried in common grave yards that are for everybody.
Rabwah that was named by government as Chanab Nagar against the wishes of its 95 percent population who are Ahmadi, who cannot hold a gathering in the city but the miscreants and militants are allowed to openly bring all sorts of rallies into town and hold gathering without any consultation and regard of its majority Ahmadi residents. The participants and speakers of these rallies openly abuse the respected elders of the community and police gives them full protection. Ahmadis on the other hand are not even allowed to organise sports events let alone religious gatherings.
Ahmadis face problems in their businesses and work places where there is constant harassment, abuse and sometime naked violence. The same situation is at educational institution where Ahmadi students have to live with constant bullying and harassment because of their faith.
The spokesperson of Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan has appealed to sane voices in Pakistan to urge the government to end the prejudice and persecution on the basis of faith and do something to end this vicious cycle of violation of basic human rights. So the country could prosper and rid itself from this menace of extremism and terrorism.
http://ahmadiyyatimes.blogspot.com/2015/04/pakistan-ahmadis-remain-victims-of-urdu.html#more
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