ASIA/PAKISTAN - Violence on Ahmadis, in defiance of the rule of law

Monday, 12 December 2016 religious minorities   islam   religious freedom   religious fundamentalism   human rights  

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Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - Arbitrary actions are committed both by public forces and by a masse of radical Muslims, carried out in defiance of the rule of law and fundamental freedoms of every citizen of Pakistan: this is how the "Asia Human Rights Commission" condemns the violence committed in recent days on the Ahmadiya community in Pakistan. As Fides learns, today the Ahmadiya mosque in Dolmial, in Chakwal (Punjab) district, was attacked by a crowd of about a thousand people, Sunni Muslims armed with stones who entered the place of worship, taking advantage of the worshipers present. One man had a heart attack and died inside the mosque.
In the past two weeks another of the Ahmadi worshipers was killed in the street while the headquarters of the community in Rabwah (Punjab) was the object of a search or unauthorized seizure, by anti-terrorist forces.
"The Ahmadiya community promotes love and peace all over the world and even in the face of violations of our security and of our peace we will never indulge in actions and protests that can compromise the peace and order of Pakistan. Our most powerful tool is prayer and good deeds", reads a statement sent to Fides by the Ahmadiya community in Pakistan.
Given the hostility of the official Sunni world towards the Ahmadis - considered "non-Muslims" and "heretics" - under pressure from the Council of the Union of Ulema of Pakistan, the Government of Punjab has issued a ban on the publication of the monthly "Tehreek-e-Jadid" and the magazine "Daily Alfazal". Against this measure, the Ahmadiya community has appealed to the Lahore High Court, which has yet to rule. Meanwhile, the Court issued a notice warning that "until the next hearing, no precautionary measures must be taken against the applicant", de facto confirming the permission to publish, until further notice.
Condemning the police raid and claiming the rule of law and freedom guaranteed by the Constitution, the Ahmadiya community denounces that "this illegal incursion is contrary to the order of the Supreme Court of Lahore", while "innocent and peaceful citizens were tortured and treated illegally and inhuman".
The Ahmadiya is a Sunni Islamic religious movement, born in the Indian subcontinent and spread internationally in 193 countries. The founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, in 1889 claimed to be the reformer of Islam. For the official Sunni world it is a "heretical" minority. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/12/2016)


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