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Critical Analysis/Archives
Translation and short commentary by Maulana Ghulam Farid Sahib. The best quick reference Holy Quran with an extraordinary biblical in one volume. US$25.00 [Order] |
Author: Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad Description: This book is a brief introduction to the five fundamental articles of the Islamic faith. The articles of faith, which all Muslims believe in, are: Unity of God, Angels, Prophets, Holy Books and Life after Death. Throughout the book, the author emphasises the areas of similarities between Islam and other religions. He shows how religious teachings evolved through the ages culminating in the complete, perfect and universal teachings of Islam. (read it online) US$3.00 [Order] |
It is now more than fifteen years since the Ordinance was promulgated. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has suffered a great deal after Dictator Ziaul Haq promulgated Ordinance XX in 1984. The suffering continues unabated. It is a touching story and this Souvenir tells only a part of it. (read it online) US$14.99 [Order] |
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REPORTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AGENCIES: D
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
… Ahmadis … were victims of sectarian violence in Punjab province in April and July.
arrested for practicing their faith |
Members of the Ahmadiyya community…continued to be arrested for practicing their faith. They were detained as prisoners of conscience for periods ranging from a few days to three months. |
Mirza Mubarak Ahmad Nusrat was arrested at Mirpurkhas, Sind province, in January and charged with defiling the name of the Prophet Muhammad, an offense which can carry the death penalty. He had included blessings to the Prophet Muhammad, as well as to the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement, in a letter. He was released on bail after three months.
In March the Ahmadiyya centenary celebrations were banned in Punjab province. In the same month 24 Ahmadis were arrested at Rabwah, the Ahmadiyya community headquarters, in connection with the celebrations. Four were charged with violating the banning order. The others were charged with offenses relating to the practice of their faith . All were released on bail.
In October four Ahmadis, including two senior leaders, were arrested at Rabwah after the authorities withdrew permission for an annual Ahmadiyya conference after it had already begun. They were released on bail two days later.
Three Ahmadis shot dead in sectarian attack - no independent inquiry held |
Three Ahmadis were shot dead in a sectarian attack by Muslims at Chak Sikandar, Punjab province, in July. One of the attackers was reportedly shot dead. Police were alleged to have been present but not to have taken any action to protect the Ahmadiyya minority. However, to Amnesty International's knowledge, no independent inquiry was held into the incident. The attack apparently intended to drive Ahmadis from the locality and by the end of the year, Ahmadis who had fled from Chak Sikandar were still being prevented from returning. |
Amnesty International Report 1990
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN
details of Ahmadis in government employment |
.. In early March the federal government was reported to have asked for details of all Ahmadis in government employment. It was said that following a cabinet decision, none was to be allowed to remain in an important position in any organization… |
Specific instances were brought to the HRCP's notice of discrimination in recruitment and promotion, even at middle ranks, and in disregard of merit.
barred from canteen |
… The eight Ahmadi employees of the State Bank of Pakistan in Lahore were barred from using the canteen facilities. Earlier the discrimination had been confined to keeping separate utensils for them.
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imprisonment for saying prayers |
.. An Ahmadi engineer of the Multan Electricity Supply Corporation, Mehmoodul Shams, was sentenced by the local magistrate to one years' rigorous imprisonment and 1,000 rupees fine for saying midday prayers on office grounds in the Muslim fashion. His sentence was upheld by the sessions court, but he was later granted bail by the Lahore High Court. |
.. Lahore High Court upheld the 1989 ban on the Ahmadis holding their centenary celebrations. Earlier, the advocate-general had pleaded on behalf of the government that allowing the celebrations would have meant giving the community the freedom to preach their faith; that would have been a crime under Article 295, inviting even the sentence of death.
An Ahmadi teaching his faith even to his child was a crime, said the government counsel. The Federal Shariat Court too had earlier (1985) ruled that preventing Ahmadis from preaching their faith was no violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
… The Punjab government rescinded its permission to Ahmadis to hold their annual convention. Some 8,000 followers had already reached Rabwah, the site of the convention. The Anjuman Khatam-e-Nabuwwat, a vocal organization with the principal object of opposing Ahmadis, had just held a conference there demanding the rescission.
"The state of human rights in Pakistan 1991",
published by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP),
as quoted in "The Apartheid Card", Zohra Yusuf,
The Herald, Nov 1992.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
possible prison sentence for holding a prayer meeting in a private house |
Members of the Ahmadiyya community continued to be arrested for the peaceful expression of their faith, and at least 13 were sentenced to terms of imprisonment. In Abbotabad, Northwest Frontier Province, a group of 12 Ahmadis, five of whom were arrested, faced criminal charges and a possible prison sentence for holding a prayer meeting in a private house in January. They were released on bail in late April. Their trial had not started by the end of the year. In Multan, Punjab province, two Ahmadi brothers, Muhammad Hanif and Muhammad Ahsan, were each sentenced to six years' imprisonment and a fine for offenses connected with preaching their faith. |
Amnesty International Report 1991
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Amnesty International is concerned that under the amended form of Section 295-C of Pakistan Penal Code, members of the minority Ahmadiyya Community may face the death penalty as a mandatory punishment for the exercise of their religious beliefs.
report of September, 1991, AI INDEX:ASA/33/09/91
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Amnesty International is concerned about reports that members of the minority Ahmadiyya Community continue to be charged, tried and convicted solely for the peaceful exercise of their religious beliefs..
imprisonment and death penalty |
Legislation which provides for imprisonment and even the death penalty on grounds of religious conscience violates the right to freedom of religion contained in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights…
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case for prayers and citing from Holy Koran |
In Abbotabad, North West Frontier Province, a group of about 55 Ahmadis met on 12 January 1990 for a prayer meeting in a private household…The following day the police registered a case under Section 298-C PPC against 12 of the participants…for offering prayers and citing from the Holy Koran…
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One of the accused…had been previously arrested for having greeted Muslims with the words 
Assalam-o-Alaikum [peace be upon you]…
desecration of places of worship and attacks on private houses |
The promulgation of Ordinance XX… has contributed to a climate… in which members of the Ahmadiyya community have become more vulnerable to various forms of attack and harassment. The desecration of Ahmacurrent phenomenon…
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The law enforcement authorities do not appear to provide adequate protection or redress to Ahmadis who have been subjected to assault, attack or provocation…
To Amnesty International's knowledge the Punjab government did not investigate the killings at Chak Sikander and the apparent failure of the police to protect the Ahmadiyya community…
Amnesty International is concerned that under the increasingly more stringent legislation…members of the Ahmadiyya community…can be imprisoned and even sentenced to death solely for the exercise of their right to freedom of religion…
Amnesty International is concerned that many Ahmadis are at present in detention solely for the exercise of their right of freedom of religion. Amnesty International considers these persons “prisoners of conscience”…
Pakistan: violations of human rights of Ahmadis
September 1991
AI Index: ASA/33/15/91
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Last modified: 7 January 1996 Sultan Sial |