Dr Irfan Malik
More than 60,000 people have been killed. All religious groups have suffered including Ahmadis, Sunnis, Shias, Ismailis, Christians and Hindus.
Five years ago on Friday May 28th 2010, marked the horrific day of the Lahore massacre in Punjab, Pakistan. At the time of Friday prayers extremist gunmen simultaneously stormed two Ahmadiyya Muslim mosques in Lahore, causing devastating carnage.
A total of 86 worshippers were killed, 125 wounded making it the single most deadly attack on the Ahmadi Muslims.
The two Lahore mosques attacked were Baitun Noor in the district of Model Town and Darul Zikr in Garhi Shahu. Religious extremists with shotguns, AK-47s and grenades launched a sustained attack on the unarmed worshippers and indiscriminately killed young and old.
Some of the terrorists were suicide bombers who died in the explosion of their ammunition belts. Other attackers managed to flee after the firing and some were caught and handed over to the police. However, some of the gunmen stood their ground in the vicinity of the mosque for several hours before being overcome.
In the aftermath of these terrible attacks, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, The Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community urged Ahmadi Muslims, who were reeling from this attack, to exhibit the utmost for patience and steadfastness and to focus on prayers for the cause of peace.
The Ahmadi Muslim community in Pakistan has always remained peaceful and faithful to the interests of the nation. In addition to the vast services initiated by successive Khalifas of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, the country has also benefited by Ahmadis contributing in various professions – for example Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan was Pakistan’s first Foreign Minister, as was Professor Abdus Salam, Pakistan’s first Nobel Prize recipient. In addition, Ahmadis have served loyally in the armed forces and its civil service and rose to senior ranks.
‘Quaid I Azam’, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan had proclaimed:
Contrast this historic statement with the appalling situation which has developed in Pakistan to the extent that we have continued to see an increasing multitude of terrorist attacks in the country. More than 60,000 people have been killed. All religious groups have suffered including Ahmadis, Sunnis, Shias, Ismailis, Christians and Hindus.
The only way ahead is through improving education, promoting mutual respect, banning hate literature and hate broadcasts in the media and by upholding of law to provide security for all of Pakistan’s citizens. We can only pray that this proves to be so and the extremist and hateful agenda of the terrorists is nullified, and that Pakistan develops a secure future.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the 86 Lahore victims, who went to the mosque to offer their Friday prayers five years ago – and did not return home. They have found their peace with God, let us pray Pakistan can find its peace with its people without anymore bloodshed and without anymore lives lost.
A total of 86 worshippers were killed, 125 wounded making it the single most deadly attack on the Ahmadi Muslims.
The two Lahore mosques attacked were Baitun Noor in the district of Model Town and Darul Zikr in Garhi Shahu. Religious extremists with shotguns, AK-47s and grenades launched a sustained attack on the unarmed worshippers and indiscriminately killed young and old.
Some of the terrorists were suicide bombers who died in the explosion of their ammunition belts. Other attackers managed to flee after the firing and some were caught and handed over to the police. However, some of the gunmen stood their ground in the vicinity of the mosque for several hours before being overcome.
In the aftermath of these terrible attacks, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, The Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community urged Ahmadi Muslims, who were reeling from this attack, to exhibit the utmost for patience and steadfastness and to focus on prayers for the cause of peace.
The Ahmadi Muslim community in Pakistan has always remained peaceful and faithful to the interests of the nation. In addition to the vast services initiated by successive Khalifas of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, the country has also benefited by Ahmadis contributing in various professions – for example Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan was Pakistan’s first Foreign Minister, as was Professor Abdus Salam, Pakistan’s first Nobel Prize recipient. In addition, Ahmadis have served loyally in the armed forces and its civil service and rose to senior ranks.
‘Quaid I Azam’, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan had proclaimed:
‘You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed- that has nothing to do with the business of the State’.
Contrast this historic statement with the appalling situation which has developed in Pakistan to the extent that we have continued to see an increasing multitude of terrorist attacks in the country. More than 60,000 people have been killed. All religious groups have suffered including Ahmadis, Sunnis, Shias, Ismailis, Christians and Hindus.
The only way ahead is through improving education, promoting mutual respect, banning hate literature and hate broadcasts in the media and by upholding of law to provide security for all of Pakistan’s citizens. We can only pray that this proves to be so and the extremist and hateful agenda of the terrorists is nullified, and that Pakistan develops a secure future.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the 86 Lahore victims, who went to the mosque to offer their Friday prayers five years ago – and did not return home. They have found their peace with God, let us pray Pakistan can find its peace with its people without anymore bloodshed and without anymore lives lost.
http://ahmadiyyatimes.blogspot.com/2015/05/perspective-remembring-2010-lahore.html
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