Sunday, August 2, 2020
Opinion | Surrender of ‘Naya Pakistan’
By Aamer Intsar MoharSeptember 22, 2018'
” You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State”. This was the vision of Pakistan that our beloved Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah expressed in his historic speech of August 11, 1947 to the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan in Karachi. We all know that over the past 70 years, Pakistan has not followed this vision of its founding father and the results have been disastrous. During the past few years, the nation as a whole has desperately been searching for a leader that can change the disastrous course this country is headed towards and can bring about a real change for the better future of Pakistan.
Imran Khan entered the political arena in 1996 by forming his political party Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf. He has led a heroic 22 years long struggle for bringing real change in Pakistan and many Pakistanis including me have been his supporters during this epic struggle which culminated when his party emerged as the leading party in 2018 general elections and he became the Prime Minister. He is my childhood hero and one person I have always admired due to his leadership qualities that he displayed during his cricketing years and specially his daring feats as the Captain of our cricket team. His never say die attitude has been his special hall mark both during his cricketing and political years.
I am extremely disappointed by the way his government surrendered before the extremists by taking back the nomination of Mr. Atif Mian from the Economic Advisory Council. It was highly unlike the Imran Khan that I have known and observed and idealized over the years. This act is totally against the ideology of Mr. Jinnah the founder of Pakistan as well as the much publicized “Medina State” that Mr. Imran Khan wants to follow in building a “New Pakistan “.
As mentioned above the Quaid had clearly stated that Religion was a personal matter of every citizen and the State of Pakistan would have nothing to do with it and would not discriminate among its citizens on the basis of cast, creed or Religion, but unfortunately Mr. Atif Mian a word renown economist was removed on the pressure of extremist forces only because he belongs to the Ahmadiya community. The two days when Mr. Fawad Ch the Information Minister defended his nomination really made me believe that perhaps the much anticipated change has really come and Quaid’s dream of all inclusive state is finally taking shape but the joy was shortlived and the next morning we were back to square one.
I personally know that people belonging to Ahmadiya community have rendered invaluable services for Pakistan. The first foreign minister of Pakistan Sir Zafarullah Khan was an Ahmadi and a very trusted colleague of Mr. Jinnah and he also played a pivotal role in Pakistan movement as he was the one who had drafted the Lahore resolution that was passed on March 23 1940 at Lahore and later on came to be known as the Pakistan Resolution. He also played an important role in securing the geographical boundaries of Pakistan as he was appointed by Mr. Jinnah to represent the Muslim League in the boundary commission. He was the one who played his due rule in passing of the Kashmir Resolution of 1948 through the United Nations which has been the cornerstone of our basis for supporting the Kasmiris struggle for their right of self determination.
During the Ayub Khan era another prominent economist was the financial advisor to the then Government of Pakistan and his name was Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad and he was also an Ahmadi. He played a very important role in securing finances for building of Tarbela and Mangla dam projects from international financial institutions and Ayub Khan is known to have said that the nation would always remain indebted to MM Ahmad for his tremendous services in making Tarbela and Mangla possible. Everyone is familiar with the name of Dr. Abdussalam the Nobel laureate from Pakistan. He was instrumental in the launch of SUPARCO and the launch of our nuclear program. Many Ahmadis have rendered meritorious services in the Armed forces. My late father was a proud officer of Pakistan Army and rendered his services for the defense of our motherland when and wherever required. By doing away with the services of a brilliant economist merely on the basis of his religious beliefs has sent a message that perhaps Ahmadis are not patriotic Pakistanis. The extremists have mentioned that they cannot and will not allow any Ahmadi to be appointed to any prominent position in government.
I belong to the Ahmadiya community and this act of the government to cede to the pressure of the extremists has caused me great pain because my loyalty to my country has been doubted. Times will move on and implications of this decision will become evident in due course of time.
I certainly do not doubt the good intentions of Imran Khan for bringing positive change to Pakistan but a few years down the lane whenever the history will be written, the historian will not take into account the good intentions but the practical steps that were taken for bringing about the desired change and unfortunately it will be written that he had an excellent opportunity to change the history and course of history but Imran Khan was not up to the challenge. Imran is still my hero because of all his services for Pakistan. I sincerely hope and pray that he is able to live up to the challenge and take prudent decisions for bringing true change in Pakistan.
https://www.rabwah.net/surrender-of-naya-pakistan/
All Party Parliamentary Group asks #Pakistan to stop persecution of #Ahmadi Muslims
A detailed report by the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community speaks of targeted attacks on the non-Muslim community with particular emphasis on Pakistan.
Ahmadi Muslims, who played a pivotal role in the creation of Pakistan, are facing severe persecution by the Pakistani government. This culminated in the events of 1974, when Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto turned the anti-Ahmadi movement into fully-fledged state-sponsored persecution. He enacted a 1974 Constitutional Amendment specifically targeting Ahmadi Muslims, declaring them ‘not Muslims for purposes of law and constitution’. It was a watershed moment in Pakistan’s history.
A detailed report by the All Party Parliamentary Group titled - 'Suffocation of the Faithful: The Persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan and The Rise of International Extremism', speaks of targeted attacks on the non-Muslim community with particular emphasis on Pakistan.
Life has become intolerable for Ahmadi Muslims living in Pakistan, and many have left Pakistan and sought refuge in other countries. In Pakistan today, anti-Ahmadi Muslim sentiment is as strong and violent as ever. Ahmadi Muslims have been denied the right to vote in Pakistan, and their core religious texts and websites are banned.
Under General Zia-ul-Haq’s promise to 'ensure that the cancer of Qadianism (a derogatory term for the Community) is exterminated', thousands of Ahmadi Muslims were charged under these laws, and Pakistan developed a sickening culture of anti-Ahmadi harassment, violence and murder.Most infamously, on May 28, 2010, two Ahmadi Muslim mosques in Lahore were attacked. 86 Ahmadi Muslims and a Christian were massacred. Mobs of hundreds have attacked mosques, the grave of Pakistan’s first Nobel Laureate has been desecrated, and the word ‘Muslim’ scrubbed from his tombstone."Despite the persecution we face in Pakistan and the myriad of restrictions placed upon us, Ahmadi Muslims continue to serve their nation with a spirit of love, selflessness and devotion, as loyalty to one’s nation is an inherent part of Islamic faith," the report quoted Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the leader of the global Ahmadiyya community.
The APPG report also requested the UK government to put pressure on Pakistan for removal of its anti-Ahmadi laws.
In Pakistan, Ahmadi mosques have also been targeted on grounds that Ahmadis cannot ‘pose’ as Muslims, therefore they cannot pray as Muslims and their places of worship cannot be called mosques or resemble mosques. As a result many Ahmadi mosques have been sealed, attacked and even destroyed."If I call Azan, I would be punished with three years’ imprisonment. If I call myself a Muslim, I would be punished with three years of imprisonment. That law is still intact in Pakistan. People have been charged for fasting in the month of Ramadan, because by fasting in the month of Ramadan you are posing as a Muslim, and hence serving a sentence of three years”. Mujeeb-ur-Rehman to the APPG Inquiry.
The APPG Inquiry heard that Ahmadi Muslims are denied the right to rest in peace after death. Ahmadi families are routinely barred by local extremist clerics from burying their loved ones at the local cemetery. As a result, many families are forced to travel long distances to put their loved ones to rest.
The persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the most severe in Pakistan. However, it is worrying to observe that phenomenon has spread to different countries across the world.
The APPG Inquiry found extremist agendas and activity are filtering into the United Kingdom. It heard how extremist clerics coming from Pakistan have been able to freely enter the UK, to carry out fundraising activities and deliver inflammatory sermons at events such as Khatme Nabuwwat conferences and promoting anti–Ahmadi sentiments. Ahmadi Muslims have experienced discrimination in the UK. Many parents have told their children not to make friends with Ahmadi Muslim children at school.
"The Inquiry heard how Birmingham City Council's Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) had refused membership for Ahmadis unless they removed the word Muslim from their title. Similar sentiments were echoed in other groups, such as the Waltham Forest interfaith forum in which Ahmadi Muslims were not permitted to be registered as part of a group representing local Muslims," the report added.
On March 24, 2016, Ahmadi Muslim shopkeeper – Asad Shah, was savagely attacked and stabbed in broad daylight on the streets of Glasgow. He died from his injuries at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
"The Ahmadiyya mosque in Sialkot of Pakistan was torn apart by hand and it was incited by a preacher who had come to the UK in 2014 and given a lecture here at the Khatme Nabuwwat Conference. I’ve raised with the government that you need to ban this guy from ever entering this country because he’s on video inciting the mosque to be torn down piece by piece but I have not had a response," said Fiyaz Mughal, to the APPG Inquiry.
In Bangladesh, a suicide bomber detonated explosives during the Friday Prayer at a mosque in a remote northern village in 2015 and wounding three members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. In May 2017, an Ahmadi Imam was brutally attacked at his local mosque. Similarly, in 2019, extremists vandalized and torched houses owned by Ahmadi Muslims to protest against the Jalsa Salana, the community’s annual convention. Around 50 people were injured in co-ordinated attacks by hardline Islamist groups.
https://zeenews.india.com/world/uk-parliament-report-concerns-persecution-of-ahmadi-muslims-in-pakistan-2299873.html
U.S. urges Pakistan to act after American charged with blasphemy shot in court
The United States urged Pakistan on Thursday to take action over the killing of an American national in a crowded courtroom as he faced trial for blasphemy.Tahir Ahmed Naseem was shot multiple times at close range as he appeared in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Wednesday.
“We urge Pakistan to take immediate action and pursue reforms that will prevent such a shameful tragedy from happening again,” the U.S. State Department said in a tweet.
As Naseem’s arraignment began before the judge, a young man in the room pulled out a handgun and shot him in the head, officials and witnesses said. The young man was arrested on the spot.
On Thursday, supporters of a hardline Islamist group held a protest rally in Peshawar calling for the release of the suspected shooter, saying he had defended his religion.The aftermath of the killing, captured on video and shared on social media, showed Naseem slumped over in a chair beside the judge’s bench, as other shackled prisoners, some with bloodied clothes, were taken from the room.“The young man who shot him had no remorse, and said he saw the Prophet Muhammad in a dream the night before,” Latif Afridi, who heads the Peshawar High Court Bar Association, told Reuters.
Afridi questioned how the man managed to get a gun into the court given that all visitors are checked thoroughly at three different points.
“It is likely someone who can go without being checked, perhaps a police officer or a lawyer, handed the shooter the gun after he entered,” he said.According to the charge sheet against Naseem, seen by Reuters, the American was in contact with a student at an Islamic school in Pakistan on Facebook and told him he was a messiah sent by God.
Naseem later met the student in Peshawar, after which police arrested him and charged him with a number of crimes, including insulting the Prophet Muhammad, which can bring the death penalty in Pakistan.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-court-blasphemy/u-s-urges-pakistan-to-act-after-american-charged-with-blasphemy-shot-in-court-idUSKCN24V2RW