The religious minority of the Ahmadiyya community is being attacked by the police, with the support of extremist groups. In the days before the party, several arrests were made, despite the fact that Pakistani law guarantees them religious freedom in their homes. Spokesperson Amir Mahmood: violation of fundamental human rights.
Punjab () – The violence perpetrated against the Ahmadiyya community, a minority in Pakistan (about 2 percent of the population), did not stop even during the Eid-al-Adha holiday. Members of the Muslim religious movement that was born in Punjab in the late 19th century and is considered heretical, were prevented – mainly by extremist groups and the police – from offering animals in sacrifice and carrying out their rites, even within private houses. Furthermore, seven Ahmadis were arrested the day before Eid in Punjab and their animals were seized. The practice is not new and is a clear violation of their human rights and the rulings of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
There are many episodes that point to widespread extremism. On the day of Eid, some clerics approached a Hindu student at Namal University in Islamabad and forced him to eat beef, proposing that he accept Islam. Added to this are the extrajudicial actions of the authorities that detain Ahmadis, force them to present bail and hinder their rites, in clear violation of article 20 of the Pakistani Constitution and the ruling of January 12, 2022 by a panel of two members of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. This pronouncement guarantees the freedom of Ahmadis to practice their faith in private places. But this year there has been a resurgence of hatred and violence against Ahmadis who carried out the religious rite of qurbani (Muslim animal sacrifice).
The seven arrests occurred on June 16. One of the detained Ahmadis is Nadeem, a resident of Daska, Sialkot district, another is from Khokar ki, Gujranwala district, and five others are from Motra, Sialkot district. Police officers also entered the house of an Ahmadi in Railway Colony, Lahore, and harassed his family, as well as another house in Lodhi Nangal, Faisalabad district. The list of these episodes could be much longer. The obstacles created by institutions are also serious. For example, the deputy commissioner of Quaidabad imposed a ban on Ahmadis from performing their religious ritual of sacrifice, in accordance with a letter that had been published by the Punjab Home Department the previous year. Similarly, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Mirpur, Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), issued an ordinance that no Ahmadi can offer any kind of animal sacrifice during the three days of Eid-ul-Adha. Instead of protecting Ahmadis from harassment and violence, police officials summoned Ahmadi leaders to various police stations and threatened them that if they discovered an Ahmadi practicing qurbani or reciting Eid prayers, they would be at risk. of an imminent attack by the Tehreek-e-Labaaik (TLP), an extremist party.
The violence clashes with the freedom of worship in private homes that Pakistani law theoretically guarantees, and the police should provide protection to Ahmadis, which they do not do at all, usually busier persecuting them at the behest of far-right groups. As a result, members of the Ahmadiyya community feel completely insecure and vulnerable. The spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Community of Pakistan, Amir Mahmood, declared that the support provided by the police to extremist groups under the cover of religion is a serious violation of human rights and is becoming a source of shame for the entire country. . Supporting the need to eradicate this radical mentality, the spokesperson called for Ahmadis detained on the occasion of the Eid holiday to be released immediately and for measures to be taken to guarantee their fundamental religious freedom.
Add Comment