#ElectionPakistan - #Pakistan's #Ahmadiyya Muslim Community announces disassociation from General Elections 2018

Currently there is one voter list that includes all religious groups including Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Zoroastrians, and Sikhs, whereas in the case of the Ahmadis, a separate voter list is being prepared bearing the titles "Qadiani Men/Women."

A separate voter list prepared for the Ahmadies based on religious differences is a worst example of biased discrimination

Chenab Nagar -The spokesperson of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan, Saleem Ud Din, has dissociated the community from the upcoming general elections that are set to take place in Pakistan on 25 July.

Saleem Ud Din said that though the elections are ostensibly being held under a joint electoral system, there is, however, a separate voter list just for Ahmadis. The process for the registration of votes and the preparation of the voter lists is now completed. The forms issued for the registration of the votes include the religion box and the Oath-Declaration.

The spokesperson expressed the view that under the current circumstances for Ahmadis to cast a vote they first have to distance themselves from the Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH) and this is something that no Ahmadi can countenance.

Currently there is one voter list that includes all religious groups including Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Zoroastrians, and Sikhs, whereas in the case of the Ahmadis, a separate voter list is being prepared bearing the titles "Qadiani Men/Women."

The spokesperson asserted that the discriminatory treatment on the basis of religion is a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise the Ahmadis of Pakistan from the electoral process and, for all intents and purposes, denying them their right of vote. "Such prejudicial behavior is an open violation of Pakistani Ahmadis as citizens of the state and goes against the vision of the founding father of the country Muhammad Ali Jinnah and contravenes both the constitution and the very of the joint electoral system."

The spokesperson said that under these circumstances, the Ahmadis consider taking part in the elections to go against their faith. And, if there is anyone who may be contesting these elections as an Ahmadi, then they cannot and should not be seen as a representative of the Ahmadiyya community as a whole and nor will any Ahmadi accept them as such.

"Therefore, in view of the prevailing circumstance, the Ahmadis of Pakistan will once again not be participating in the Pakistani general elections,' Saleem Ud Din declared.

https://timesofahmad.blogspot.com/2018/07/pakistans-ahmadiyya-community-announces.html