In what the BBC describes as a notification issued by the Interior Minsitry two weeks ago, the ASWJ was suspected to have been involved in terrorism related activities of the Sipah-e-Sahaba, the defunt terror group.
The new notification, unannounced publically, has been issued based on schedule-one of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
According to the copies of the notification available with the BBC, authorities in all four provinces have been alerted to the change in status.
The BBC claims it repeatedly tried to get a version from Interior Minister Rehman Malik, but to no avail.
The ASWJ chief Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi expressed his disfamiliarity with the ban. He, however, made it a point that if such a ban exists, it would be challenged in court.
He added that his group respected the laws, and that trying to impose a ban on his organisation was akin to imposing a ban on Pakistan.
Last month, the US had said that they believed the Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), which, like the ASWJ operates under the banner of Difa-e-Pakistan Council, was a front for militant group like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a banned militant group just like the Sipah-e-Sahaba. The US also called for curbs to be placed on JuD head Hafiz Saeed.
The lively and charged crowd responded with great enthusiasm when the speakers chanted “death to America” and demanded jihad (holy war) against the US which was, according to them, a bitter enemy of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
“America wants to get hold of our nuclear assets. Sadly, the incumbent leaders of Pakistan are also playing in the hands of Americans. Let us join hands and step forward to break Pakistani government’s alliance with the US to save Pakistan,” speakers said, addressing the charged crowd.
Supporters and leaders of as many as 40 parties participated in the show of ‘Defence of Pakistan’ which in fact, failed to attract majority of students and ‘progressive class’ of the country.
“Today, we have gathered here to raise a voice of protest against the US intervention in Pakistan. Who will join hands with us in this noble cause,” Maulana Samiul Haq asked the participants.
Speaking on the occasion, former head of ISI General (retd) Hamid Gul told participants that the US policies in the region, especially in Pakistan were the root cause of main problems in the country. He urged the participants to get united and struggle against the US policies to rid the country of its trouble.
“Our protest is against the possible resumption of Nato supplies, US and Indian occupation and to strengthen the country’s defence,” speakers said. The speakers made it clear that the US presence in the region was only meant to break Pakistan. “America wants to break Pakistan into pieces. Now they are conspiring to deprive Pakistan of Balochistan. We will call All-Party Conference on Balochistan soon,” speakers said.
The huge crowd responded to the speakers when they shouted slogans like “Death to America” and “America deserves one treatment: jihad, jihad”.
“America can never be our friend, it is our biggest enemy. America will be defeated in Afghanistan and divided into pieces,” Mian Aslam, a former lawmaker from Jamaat-e-Islami party told the rally.
Banners sprung up in the rally denounced US drone strikes, government’s decision to grant India most favoured nation status in a bid to ease trade and reopening of the Afghan border for Nato supply.
“Go America Go,” “No to Nato,” “Arrogant Americans - others are also human beings,” and “the chains of slavery will be broken now,” the banners read.
Difa-e-Pakistan Council has attracted huge gatherings at a series of rallies across the country that some see as a build up to contesting next general election, which could be called within months.
Three prominent leaders: Jamaatud Dawa head Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat President Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi and Secretary General Dr Khadim Hussain Dhillon did not participate in the DPC sit-in.
The capital administration on Saturday banned the entry of Ludhianvi, Dhillon and Hafiz Saeed Ahmad in Islamabad for four days.
A large of devotees and visitors from across the world converge to Data Darbar to pay respect at the holy shrine of the religious saint.
The Urs celebrations will continue for three days till January 15.
The bulk of Pakistan’s tiny Christian community live in and around the eastern city of Lahore, where police said there were 433 churches.
“We will deploy 2,500 policemen, including sharp shooters, to provide security to them at Christmas,” Nayab Haider, a police spokesman, told AFP.
Lahore has suffered a series of attacks blamed on Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants, part of a nationwide campaign of violence that has killed more than 4,700 people since July 2007.
Recent kidnappings of a US development expert and the son of assassinated politician Salmaan Taseer have heightened security fears in Lahore, a city of eight million.
“We have placed 38 churches in category A, which are most sensitive, and among them, 20 are even more sensitive as we expect foreigners to visit these churches on Christmas Eve,” Haider said.
Traffic would be banned outside these churches, and each one assigned seven policemen and a sniper, he added.
“Police will also install walk-through gates at the entrance of all churches to be manned by security staff,” Haider said.
He denied there was any specific threat to Christians at Christmas but said precautions were being taken on a “general threat perception”.
Only three percent of Pakistan’s 174 million people are estimated to be non-Muslim. The Vatican has said Pakistani Christians are often victims of violence and discrimination.
On Tuesday, the Masihi Foundation, a human rights group, warned that a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy last year is in a “very frail” physical and mental state.
Asia Bibi, 46, was sentenced to death in November 2010 after drinking water from a well reserved for Muslims and allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed. Her appeal at the High Court in Lahore is ongoing.
Pope Benedict XVI and the international community have condemned her conviction and have asked for her to be pardoned.
JuD leader Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi said this while addressing a demonstration of Al Muhammadia Students Pakistan, a student wing of JuD, against the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India and the Nato attack on a check post in Mohmand Agency which left 24 Pakistani military personnel dead.
He said if the US do not vacate Shamsi Airbase, they would announce a new war and jihad against the Pakistan government. Maulana Farooqi said this announcement would be made on December 18 at a Defence Pakistan Council meeting at Minar-e-Pakistan.
Youngsters at the protest raised slogans against India, US and the Pakistani government. They were holding placards with quotations against Nato forces and the MFN status.
JI Leader Farid Ahmed Paracha addressing the demonstration said that jihad is the only solution against terrorism of every type including drone attacks and attacks on check posts.
Indian held Kashmir Hurriyat Conference leader Sayed Ali Gilani in a telephonic address condemned the Nato attack on the check post. He said Pakistan was facing problems as a result of being a part of the US coalition.
Gilani added that Pakistani rulers must not expect anything good to come from the US and instead of declaring India as its MFN, Pakistan should help the Kashmiri people. He said Pakistan’s friendship with India is not only against the struggle for the independence of Kashmir but also against the sovereignty of Pakistan.
Gilani demanded the government to alienate itself from the war against terrorism.
JuD leader Maulana Ameer Hamza said the US is not an ally of Pakistan but was its enemy. He said the rulers should force US citizens to leave Pakistan instead of issuing condemnations.
Hamza added that all CIA stations and bases in Pakistan should be eliminated to end terrorism in Pakistan.
Ameer JI Punjab Dr Syed Waseem Akhtar in a statement condemned the aggression by NATO forces and declared it a cowardly act adding that the military should respond to this attack and that the entire nation would stand shoulder to shoulder with the army.
“NATO supply line must be cut down and airbases be vacated from US forces immediately. Political and military leadership must act upon the resolutions unanimously passed by All Parties Conference and Parliament,” he said.
The protesters later offered funeral in absentia at the Nasir Bagh for the deceased soldiers in the check post attack. Professor Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki led the funeral prayer.
This was the JuD’s third demonstration in the city within a week, including its protest against the granting of MFN status to India.
While addressing the rally, senior member of JuD Ameer Hamza said “When Pakistan announced that it might award the MFN status to India, Hafiz Saeed reassured , Ali Geelani that we will not leave him alone.”
“India can never be a most favorite nation for Pakistanis,” he added.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani is the founder of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat of Indian administered Kashmir.
Referring to Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Maulana Abdur Rehman Makki said:
“How can this 33 year old girl know anything about the 63 year old Pakistan?”
He also added: “If this decision (to award MFN status to India) is not reversed then those who are responsible for this decision will have to get reversed.”
Secretary General Punjab of Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamat, the political wing of banned militant outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba, showed solidarity with the JuD.
“I want to announce from Sipah-e-Sahaba that we are with Hafiz Abdur-Rehman Makki and Hafiz Saeed.”
The JuD Lahore Ameer, Ameer-ul-Azeem was present at the rally also.
Media efforts to promote harmony with India during the speeches were also condemned.
At the rally when the participants were asked why they were attending, one tractor driver said he was given Rs2,000 to attend. Others gave figure between Rs2,000-5000.
A few others said they are attending because of their personal association with JuD members in their neighbourhood. However, a few farmers said they were protesting because “India does not release enough water for their fields.”
Rally participants also included a number young boys from the JuD Markaz Tayyaba in Muridkey.
The group announced that on November 27 students from different seminaries will stage a protest against granting the MFN status to India outside the Lahore Press Club. On December 18, 40 religious parties will gather for a convention at Iqbal Park in Lahore.
Only two of the Church’s 44 dioceses voted against the draft legislation, easily securing the 50 percent required for it to go back to the General Synod, or parliament, for another vote, said WATCH, a group campaigning for women bishops.
Dioceses have been balloting their members since March this year and Sunday’s result confirmed what had largely been a foregone conclusion following the Synod’s earlier backing of the motion. But traditionalist Anglo Catholics and conservative evangelicals have threatened to continue to oppose the draft legislation, calling for more concessions. Even if the draft is backed by a final synod vote next year, the first woman bishop is unlikely to be consecrated before 2014.
The Church of England is part of the 80-million strong, worldwide Anglican Communion. Other Anglican churches, including in the United States, Australia and Canada, already have women bishops.
But traditionalists and evangelicals continue to argue against it on biblical grounds. The consecration of women bishops is one of the most divisive issues facing the church, alongside same sex marriages and the consecration of homosexuals.
The Church of England has been criticised for being obsessed with such issues at a time when families are struggling with economic hardship amid rising unemployment, higher prices and frozen wages as part of the British government’s attempts to rein in a record peacetime budget deficit.
The church was seen as weak and confused when demonstrators protesting against the excesses of capitalism last month parked 200 tents outside one of the its most famous places of worship, St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Liberals in the Church, who say it is insulting not to admit women to positions of power, argue concessions have already been made to appease opponents.
About 50 disaffected traditionalist bishops and priests in the Church of England have decided to leave the Anglican Church and take up Pope Benedict’s offer to switch to Rome.
Others have decided to stay and fight from within. They say Jesus Christ’s apostles were all men and that there is nothing in the Bible or church history to support women bishops. They pointed to the number of dioceses who backed a following motion, or secondary motion, calling for improved provision for opponents to support their case. Nearly a third of the Church of England’s working priests are female.
The occasion of Baba Guru Nanak Dev’s 543rd birth anniversary, for which more than 13,000 pilgrims had gathered at Nankana Sahib, was soured by allegations of a rape of a pilgrim.
The allegations fell on a police constable, who is said to have raped a Hindu woman on the premises of a Gurdwara.
The case was reported on November 8 at the Gurdwara Tambu Sahib, at a distance of one kilometre from Gurdwara Janam Asthan Nankana Sahib, Guru Nanak’s birthplace. However, the incident was hushed up by local authorities and the police, leaving most pilgrims unaware of the case, sources familiar with the matter told The Express news 24/7.
The victim, one of around 10,000 Pakistani Hindu and Sikh pilgrims, had come to Nankana Sahib from Rahimyar Khan. More than 400 police personnel were deployed for the birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism.
The constable was reportedly caught red-handed in a room at Gurdwara Tambu Sahib by some Sikh pilgrims who gathered at the Gurdwara for religious rituals, sources said, adding that the pilgrims thrashed the constable and locked him in the room.
The constable was handed over to DPO Dr Haider Ashraf who later sent the accused to a police station, sources added.
A case was registered at the Nankana Sahib police station on the complaint of the victim’s husband. Shahbaz, a clerk at the police station, said the FIR has been sealed while the accused constable has been sent to jail on judicial remand.
“We have taken action against the accused according to directions from higher authorities,” SHO Sajjad Akber said in response to the allegation. Ashraf said all evidence gathered will be sent for a DNA test.
The Evacuee Trust Property Board, however, said there was no rape case and a police officer had walked into the women’s bathroom.
The allegations fell on a police constable, who is said to have raped a Hindu woman on the premises of a Gurdwara.
The case was reported on November 8 at the Gurdwara Tambu Sahib, at a distance of one kilometre from Gurdwara Janam Asthan Nankana Sahib, Guru Nanak’s birthplace. However, the incident was hushed up by local authorities and the police, leaving most pilgrims unaware of the case, sources familiar with the matter told The Express news 24/7.
The victim, one of around 10,000 Pakistani Hindu and Sikh pilgrims, had come to Nankana Sahib from Rahimyar Khan. More than 400 police personnel were deployed for the birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism.
The constable was handed over to DPO Dr Haider Ashraf who later sent the accused to a police station, sources added.
A case was registered at the Nankana Sahib police station on the complaint of the victim’s husband. Shahbaz, a clerk at the police station, said the FIR has been sealed while the accused constable has been sent to jail on judicial remand.
“We have taken action against the accused according to directions from higher authorities,” SHO Sajjad Akber said in response to the allegation. Ashraf said all evidence gathered will be sent for a DNA test.
The Evacuee Trust Property Board, however, said there was no rape case and a police officer had walked into the women’s bathroom.
Mir says that he has no objections to any community living in the area; his problem is with the congregation of religious groups. He adds that Ahmadis have put up barriers and posted private guards on the main road adjacent to the hospital. Mir, a businessman, even claims the Ahmadi community has snipers on the rooftop of the building, which he terms a “fortress”.
Alarmingly, he adds that if there are delays in dealing with the problem, there could be serious repercussions.
A number of Ahmadis, when interviewed, say they have done no wrong.
“The building was built after Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya purchased the land. Being a registered organisation, and under the relevant rules, they can carry out worship in the building”, said a senior member of Ahmadi community, who asked not to be identified.
The man added that moveable barriers and a few young security guards were arranged every Friday after last year’s attack in Lahore. The district administration granted permission for this.
“We have removed the barriers and young guards from the main road in front of our building after some people objected to our security measures”, he said.
The community member also justified shifting premises, as the community had previously gathered at a building near Committee Chowk on Benazir Bhutto Road.
He emphasised that his community had committed no unconstitutional or unlawful activities and pleaded for the hate campaign to stop so Ahmadis could feel safe living in the area.
Superintendent of Police for Rawal Town area Malik Matloob Ahmed ruled out any chance the law and order situation might turn sour.
Ahmed said he had referred both sides to contact either the town municipal administrator or the DCO to establish whether the building purchased by the Ahmadis was a residential building or a place of worship. The police will be in a better position to tackle the issue after the determination of the actual status of the building, he added. The SP also said the banners and hoardings against Ahmadis would be removed.
Hundreds of people have been trampled to death in stampedes which have blighted several previous pilgrimages when the faithful rush to hurl stones at huge pillars symbolising the devil. To complete the ritual, a pilgrim must throw 21 pebbles at each of three 25-metre pillars.
“This ritual gives me moral strength. Right now I feel as though I’m defeating Satan,” said Mokhtar Khan, a 29-year-old who arrived at the site with dozens of fellow Bangladeshis who chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest).
Another devotee about to perform the ritual, 25-year-old Egyptian Mohammed Husseinin, quipped that he would “feel better once I’ve stoned Satan, my biggest enemy.” Saudi authorities have installed a multi-level walkway through the site in a bid to avoid the trampling that caused the deaths of 364 people in 2006, 251 in 2004 and 1,426 in 1990. So far this year, no major incidents have been reported among the more than 2.5 million pilgrims. The stoning site has been “developed... (and) movement is more fluid and the organisation is better,” said the Bangladeshi Khan, who is on his eighth pilgrimage in his capacity as a member of the Haj organising committee.
A large security force monitored worshippers for the stoning after the slaughtering of sheep in a ritual for the Feast of the Sacrifice (Eidul Azha) to recall Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son on God’s order. Most pilgrims did not sacrifice an animal themselves, but instead bought vouchers from the Saudi authorities which then forward meat in the form of aid to poor Muslims in other countries. After the stoning ceremony, the pilgrims go to Makkah’s Great Mosque for a “farewell visit” to the Ka’aba. The Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be performed at least once in a lifetime by all those who are able to make the journey.
More than 1.83 million pilgrims have arrived in the kingdom from abroad, marking a 1.5 percent increase from last year, said Makkah governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal.
Several hundred thousand Saudis and foreign residents in the kingdom were also granted permits to join them, he added.
To help prevent chaos, the authorities have numbered buses and tents in Mina and Mount Arafat, where the pilgrims spent Saturday, according to the countries from which the pilgrims have come.
The ministry of religious affairs sends 3.25 million text messages each day to the mobile phones of pilgrims to inform them of correct procedures for the Haj rites so as to “prevent that which is harmful,” ministry official Sheikh Talal al-Uqail told the official SPA news agency.
One group of Hajj pilgrims complained that the place of residence provided to them in Makkah is seven kilometres away from Haram al Sharif.
A pilgrim from Sargodha said that the building they were told about in the programme is different from the one actually allotted to them.
The pilgrim’s residence is seven kilometres away from Haram al Sharif and the building has only one lift for 200 people, he said.
The director of Hajj operations is also demanding an additional amount of approximately Rs11,000 from the pilgrims for shifting them to Madina.
Following an argument with the pilgrims, the administration closed its office and left.
In 2010, Hajj pilgrims travelling through the government scheme faced immense problems due to lack of accommodations and unwillingness on the part of the administrators to provide any help.
The buildings purchased by the Hajj administrators were five kilometres away from Haram al Sharif, while according to laws, the accommodations should not be more than two kilometres away.
Most of the pilgrims spent nights on footpaths and roads due to the negligence of the Pakistani Hajj administrators. Many were deprived of housing facilities at Mina and paid high rent.
For some bigots, putting up a portrait of a man vaguely associated with the founder of the Ahmadi sect is enough to deserve being ‘punished’ with exile from the district and a ban on your business.
That, at least, has been the experience of Sheikh Arif, a hakeem (practitioner of traditional medicine) in Haripur. A gathering of so-called ‘religious’ leaders took place in Haripur on Monday, where they ‘decided’ to ‘expel’ Arif from the district and ‘banned’ his business.Arif’s supposed ‘crime’ was to have a picture on his shop’s signboard of Hakeem Muhammad Hussain, allegedly an associate of the founder of the Ahmadi sect, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiyani. It was not immediately clear why the so-called religious leaders found the portrait quite so offensive. Where they felt they got the authority to ‘ban’ a business and ‘exile’ a person also remains unclear.
The meeting was attended by representatives of all factions of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam, the Aalmi Majlis Tahafuz Khatm-e-Nabuwat, the Shaban Khatm-e-Nabuwat, the Ahle Sunnat Waljamaat, and Wafaq ul Madaras. Attendees warned the district administration of agitation if the government failed to ban Arif’s entry into the district.
Without offering any evidence, the gathering accused the hakeem of preaching the beliefs of the Ahmadi sect, which they claimed was unconstitutional. They seem misinformed on that front: Article 20 of the constitution states “every citizen shall have the right to profess, practise and propagate his religion.”
Arif himself, meanwhile, appears to have disappeared. His shop was closed when this correspondent visited, though the ‘offensive’ portrait had been removed.
The ills afflicting the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were on full display here on Saturday after two of its flights for Jeddah were delayed on ‘technical’ grounds while an engine of a plane returning from Saudi Arabia caught fire during landing at the Allama Iqbal Airport.
About 1,000 passengers were stranded at the Haj terminal for several hours.
Pilgrims, including women and the elderly, blamed the national flag-carrier for causing inconvenience and failing to transport them timely.
A few of them complained that the airline staff provided them meal only on request and some others complained that the seating arrangement and other facilities were inadequate.
A pilgrim told Dawn by phone that flight PK-1357, which was to depart at 4:15pm, was delayed till Sunday afternoon because of non-availability of aircraft.
He said the whole day was a torment for his family because they reached Haji Camp at 8am, but after waiting for 11 hours in the lounge were asked to stay at a hotel indefinitely.
Another pilgrim, Mohammad Amjad of PK-1357, said pilgrims were exhausted owing to the long wait and poor facilities.
He said the passengers were first told that the flight would take off in two hours, but were later told that it was delayed for an unspecified period.
A PIA spokesman, Athar Khan, said two flights had been delayed because of technical faults.
He said that flight PK-1257, which was to fly to Jeddah at 3:30pm, and PK-1357, which was to depart at 4:15pm, developed technical faults after their arrival from Saudi Arabia.
He said that passengers of PK-1257 were staying at the airport and would be sent anytime while pilgrims of PK-1357 had been shifted to a hotel temporarily.
He said that technical staff was repairing the PK-1257 plane while a special team from Karachi had come to repair the PK-1357 aircraft.
FIRE: The engine of a PIA plane engaged in Haj operation reportedly caught fire while landing at the Allama Iqbal Airport.
A spokesman for the national carrier, however, claimed there was no fire.
A source at the airport said that the captain of Boeing 747 (flight number PK-1458) saw smoke after a ‘light’ fire in the engine number four while landing, but the crew managed to overcome it by using emergency fire-fighting system.
The source said the flight reached Lahore from Jeddah after dropping pilgrims.
According to a PIA spokesman, the control tower had cautioned the captain about suspected smoke in one of the engines which was not being indicated on the cockpit panel.
The aircraft after landing safely followed the normal safety procedure and the aircraft was fully checked.
The initial report of the ground engineers was that they did not notice any smoke or fire on the aircraft engine. However, according to the standard operating procedure, the aircraft will now have to go through a complete check.
About 1,000 passengers were stranded at the Haj terminal for several hours.
Pilgrims, including women and the elderly, blamed the national flag-carrier for causing inconvenience and failing to transport them timely.
A few of them complained that the airline staff provided them meal only on request and some others complained that the seating arrangement and other facilities were inadequate.
A pilgrim told Dawn by phone that flight PK-1357, which was to depart at 4:15pm, was delayed till Sunday afternoon because of non-availability of aircraft.
He said the whole day was a torment for his family because they reached Haji Camp at 8am, but after waiting for 11 hours in the lounge were asked to stay at a hotel indefinitely.
Another pilgrim, Mohammad Amjad of PK-1357, said pilgrims were exhausted owing to the long wait and poor facilities.
He said the passengers were first told that the flight would take off in two hours, but were later told that it was delayed for an unspecified period.
A PIA spokesman, Athar Khan, said two flights had been delayed because of technical faults.
He said that flight PK-1257, which was to fly to Jeddah at 3:30pm, and PK-1357, which was to depart at 4:15pm, developed technical faults after their arrival from Saudi Arabia.
He said that passengers of PK-1257 were staying at the airport and would be sent anytime while pilgrims of PK-1357 had been shifted to a hotel temporarily.
He said that technical staff was repairing the PK-1257 plane while a special team from Karachi had come to repair the PK-1357 aircraft.
FIRE: The engine of a PIA plane engaged in Haj operation reportedly caught fire while landing at the Allama Iqbal Airport.
A spokesman for the national carrier, however, claimed there was no fire.
A source at the airport said that the captain of Boeing 747 (flight number PK-1458) saw smoke after a ‘light’ fire in the engine number four while landing, but the crew managed to overcome it by using emergency fire-fighting system.
The source said the flight reached Lahore from Jeddah after dropping pilgrims.
According to a PIA spokesman, the control tower had cautioned the captain about suspected smoke in one of the engines which was not being indicated on the cockpit panel.
The aircraft after landing safely followed the normal safety procedure and the aircraft was fully checked.
The initial report of the ground engineers was that they did not notice any smoke or fire on the aircraft engine. However, according to the standard operating procedure, the aircraft will now have to go through a complete check.
After the four million Qadianis(Ahmadis) were officially declared non-Muslims in 1984 by the state, they cannot call themselves Muslims or go to mosques. They cannot be overheard praising Prophet Mohammad. To add insult to injury, every Pakistani who claims to be a Muslim and owns a passport has declared that he or she considers them to be non-Muslims and their leader an imposter prophet.
Pakistani Qadianis & Lahoris Mirzai today live in constant fear and humiliation. So much so, the hatred has permeated into each and every slice of society and the oppressors have become more vocal and aggressive.
A month after ten Qadiani (Ahmadi) students were expelled from two schools in the village of Dharinwala, in Faisalabad district, all have been put back to school, not in there old ones, but in two schools in Hafizabad, thanks to Khalil Ahmad, father and grandfather of four students who were among those expelled.
“I managed to get all of them enrolled in two schools in the nearby city of Hafizabad,” he said
But it’s not been easy. Most parents of the expelled children are too poor, so Ahmed volunteered to pay for their admissions, their books and stationery. And that is not all. He, with the help of his two sons, makes sure they drop and pick all of them on a motorbike, doing turns.
In one school, the principal knows he has given admission to Ahmadi students but the educator believes faith should not come in the way of those seeking education. “In the other the principal has not been told,” Ahmed revealed.
Sadly, all during this episode, the government has remained a quiet bystander, as always.
It is not the first time that students have been expelled from an educational institution in Punjab because of their religious affiliations, remarked Bushra Gohar, a parliamentarian belonging to the secular Awami National Party. According to Gohar, her party members had condemned the expulsion of students belonging to the Ahmadiyya community each time on the floor of the house. “However, a protest or condemnation from the parties leading in the Punjab has not been forthcoming,” she said.
For far too long, Pakistani students belonging to this minority community have been facing various forms of discrimination based on their faith.
“This tidal wave against the Ahmadiyya education shows no sign of ebbing,” Saleemuddin, the spokesperson of the Ahmaddiya Jammat, told Dawn.com.
He said after 1984, when the government promulgated the anti Ahmadiyya ordinance, both the government and the clerics have been trying their utmost to punish them in various ways.
“Ahmadi lecturers were posted away to distant locations and some were not allowed to teach. Ahmadi principals and headmasters were replaced. Ahmadi students were deprived admission in professional colleges. They were refused accommodation in attached hostels. They suffered attacks by extremist elements on campuses.”
According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, the Islami Jamiat Talaba, the student wing of the Islami Jamiat has been tasked to cleanse the educational institutions, including universities and professional colleges of Ahmadi students.
Hasan Ahmed, who was among the 23 students who were expelled from Punjab Medical College, in Faisalabad, back in 2008, can never forget the stressful event and how “night after night, for over a month” he kept stressing over the events that turned his settled student life all topsy-turvy.
“I knew it happened to others, so was not completely caught unawares,” Hasan acknowledged. He is at present completing his house job in Lahore, keeping an “ultra busy schedule”.
Eventually all were re-instated in some college or another. “After months of waiting, just before exam, my friend was sent to Bahawalpur while I went off to a distant place of Rahimyar Khan in a college of lower merit,” narrated Hasan.
After a gargantuan effort, he was finally allowed to appear in exams from Lahore and then got admitted to Allama Iqbal Medical College, in Lahore.
“To be in a state of flux was the worst part of this episode specially since exams were approaching and I didn’t know which place I was to appear from,” said Hasan.
He expressed that till the identity of an Ahmadi remains undisclosed “he remains safe”.
But that is sadly not the case if you are living in Pakistan. People are culturally nosy and want to know your cast and sect. “Eventually they end up finding that you are an Ahmadi. Once they know, you can feel a change of attitude and it just takes a mischief maker to exploit others’ feelings against you,” said Hasan.
Till Hina Akram’s faith remained unknown to her teacher in Faislabad’s National Textile University, she was considered a star student. But after it became known she belonged to the Ahmadiyya community, she faced so much faith-based harassment that she had to quit studies.
“I was told to convert to Islam,” said Hina, who was studying in the sixth semester of her BSc.
“I was handed some anti-Ahmadiyya literature to read, offered a refuge in Muslim home. But when she told the teacher she was an Ahmadi by choice he called her an infidel and warned her of severe consequences.
“You will face such a fire of animosity in the campus that not even the vice chancellor will be able to help you,” he threatened her.
True to his word, a hate campaign was initiated and a social boycott began. Out of college, she is desperately trying to go abroad. Her fate remains in balance.
But it’s not just the education aspect where the anti-Ahmadiyya lobby is hitting, said Saleemuddin.
“The extremist elements are getting more and more powerful because of Saudi-US influence and the government’s policy of appeasement,” said I.A. Rehman, General Secretary Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
“The Ahmadis are already the worst persecuted minority in our country – and things for them appear to be growing worse as hatred and intolerance spread,” Kamila Hyat, a journalist and a rights activist echoed the same sentiments. “The lack of enforcement of laws to prevent the preaching of hatred adds to the problem,” she added.
Saleemuddin said by allowing the extremist clerics to hold anti-Ahmadiyya rallies and conferences, the government is adding fuel to this venom. “People are openly instigated to kill us in the name of Islam,” he said.
“Violence and the advance of bigotry, prejudice and hate against minorities have never really been met with the resolve needed to remove impunity from the social equation in Pakistan,” Sherry Rehman, a legislator belonging to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, agreed.
Instead, she told Dawn.com what is seen is an “expansion in the space for religious and sectarian apartheids, which has led now to heinous acts of brutality and exclusion of many, particularly Ahmadis.”
She warned: “This is a dangerous trend that conflates national identity with religion.”
Perhaps that is one reason why Pervez Hoodbhoy expresses: “Today, when religion has become so central in matters of the state, they [Ahmadis] do not stand a chance in Pakistan of getting rights, respect, and dignity. The overdose of religion given to young Pakistanis in their schools and homes means that nothing matters more than which religion and sect you belong to. Ahmadis are the lightning rod that attracts more hatred than any other sect.”
For its part rights groups like the Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) say they have “repeatedly” raised the issue of “state tolerated persecution”.
“We are urging authorities to intervene in each case,” said Rehman. “But the situation is getting worse day by day.
Terming it “abhorrent and self defeating” when society allows “for the dehumanization of Ahmadis or Christians or the Shia for that matter, it is effectively cannibalizing itself,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan director of HRW.
“The federal government expresses regret at incidents but has made clear its unwillingness to repeal or amend discriminatory laws,” said HRW spokesperson.
Given the current intolerance, the fate of the new generation of Pakistani Ahmadis looks “quite bleak” said Rehman.
Even Hoodbhoy said: “For years, Ahmadis, Hindus, and Christians have been desperately seeking to flee Pakistan. They would be foolish to want to stay,” said Hoodbhoy.
This fails to dampen young Hasan’s spirits. He thinks the future looks “brighter than ever before”.
“Even if the situation is made worse in Pakistan, this does not mean the future is not bright. It’s a matter of time before we start getting equal rights in this country.
Often when they get together, the young Ahmadis discuss the “bitter realities” they have to face as Pakistanis.
“But we don’t want to leave our country at the juncture that it is at,” said a patriotic Hasan. This is because the contribution of the Ahmadi community towards building of Pakistan has been immense,” he said with conviction.
He said recently their leader urged all Ahmadis of the world to “fast once a week and pray” especially for the prosperity of Pakistan.”
The participants lamented the government failure to implement resolutions passed by the parliament and the recently held All-Party Conference (APC).
It demanded the government should declare in clear terms that no army operation would be conducted in the North Waziristan and US drones violating Pakistan’s airspace would be shot down.
It also called upon the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of drone attacks, alleging the US was using chemical weapons against unarmed civilians.
The conference opposed Most Favourite Nation (MFN) status for India and called for ‘open support’ to the freedom movement in occupied Kashmir.
Regretting at the absence of most of the mainstream political parties including the PPP, PML-N, PML-F, PTI, MQM and ANP from the conference, the participants said it reflected the ‘intentions’ of these parties. The conference was presided over by the JUI-S chief Maulana Samiul Haq while prominent among the participants were JI’s Munawwar Hasan, Jamaatud Dawa’s Prof Saeed, PML-Q’s Chaudhry Zaheer, Gen (retired) Hameed Gul, AML’s Sheikh Rashid, PML-Z’ Ijazul Haq, Ayatollah Najfi, Pastor Ibrah Deniel, Sirdar Sham Singh, MQM-H’s Shamshad Ghauri, Gen (retired) Muhammad Shafiq, and Ajmal Wazir from Waziristan.
The 26 workers drive the company's rental cars to and from the airport for cleaning and refueling. They are among 34 Hertz employees suspended on September 30 for failing to clock out before breaks. Eight of the 34 signed the clock-out agreement and have returned to their jobs, company spokesman Rich Broome said.
Termination letters have been sent to the rest. The firm made it clear the suspended workers needed to agree to the clock-out conditions by the end of the day if they wanted to be reinstated, Broome told the Seattle Times.
The firings were first reported by KOMO-TV . Broome said, "It's not about prayer, it's not about religion; it's about reasonable requirements."
Observant Muslims pray five times a day. Hertz said the suspended workers were violating provisions of a collective bargaining agreement and a settlement with the equal employment opportunity commission reached two years ago.
Teamsters Local 117, which represents workers, said the two sides were unable to reach an agreement that would have allowed the workers back to return to their pre-suspension status.
Al-Asheikh announced that this year, the King Abdullah program for hosting pilgrims would receive pilgrims from Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Russia, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Singapore and Myanmar.
So far, 18,000 Muslims from around the globe have performed Haj as guests of the kingdom. The program is managed by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance.
“This year, Muslims from countries that were not covered by the program in previous years are being invited. Our plan is to include the largest possible number of nationalities,” Al-Asheikh said.
Hindus are the largest minority in Pakistan but have struggled to register marriages due to chronic delays to the passage of the act by Parliament. In Pakistan there is currently no system for the registration of marriages for certain minorities, including Hindus, Sikhs and Baha’is.
“We will never allow the government to have a divorce clause in the Hindu Marriage Act,” said Chief Patron Pakistan Hindu Council Ramesh Kumar. “We have no concept of divorce in our religion,” said Kumar, a member in the National Assembly on a reserved seat for non-Muslims. Kumar has been campaigning for the issue for many years. In 2007 he filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking for help to solve the problem without further delay.
Minister for National Harmony Akram Masih Gill said his department was in the final stages of drafting the revised bill. “The divorce clause is an integral part of the Hindu Marriage Act,” he told The Express Tribune. Adding weight to his argument, Gill pointed to India’s Hindu Marriage Act of 1956, which contains a divorce clause, and said that his ministry would consult Indian experts on the issue if a consensus is not reached.
Clause 13, the controversial passage of the proposed 16-page bill, states that any Hindu can divorce his wife or her husband at any time and in any court. Various conditions have been proposed for divorce proceedings. The new draft empowers any court to entertain any petition for the legal dissolution of a marriage. Various other rules have also been mentioned in the bill, such as when divorcees may marry again, the legal rights of children, void and voidable marriages, the punishment of bigamy and punishments for other contraventions of Hindu marriage laws.
The proposed bill seems unlikely to be a one-size-fits-all for minorities. Indeed, Sikh community leaders have dispelled the impression that the proposed bill can also be applied to marriage registrations of Sikhs based on the Indian model.
Meanwhile, a new member’s bill was introduced in Parliament on Tuesday, though the details are yet to emerge. Pakistan Muslim League MNA Kishan Chand Parwani introduced The Hindu Marriage Bill 2011 – which perhaps might offer a compromise which finally bridges the gap between Hindu leaders and the government.
SIC Chairman Sahibzada Fazle Karim announced that they would hold a ‘Remove government’ train march from Rawalpindi to Karachi on November 21 to press for Qadri’s release. “We will not let them hang Mumtaz Qadri,” he said to loud cheers. He said that Islam allowed the killing of a blasphemer.
Karim said Ahmedis were conspiring with America against Islam. He said that the SIC would fight for Islamic rule in Pakistan. They would also stop “the US dream of Indian supremacy in the subcontinent” from becoming a reality. He said the Sunni Tehrik was being victimised in Karachi and demanded that the government release its workers and leaders.
Jamat Ahle Sunnat (JAS) Nazim Aala Allama Syed Riaz Hussain Shah also spoke out against Ahmedis, saying they were “agents of anti-Pakistan forces” and involved in anti-state activities.
JAS Ameer Syed Mazhar Saeed Kazmi said appointing Ahmedis to key posts was a violation of the Constitution. He demanded that all Ahmedis be expelled from key posts. He said Ahmedis were created by the British.
At the end of the conference, the participants passed a resolution demanding the government end unemployment and power outages, and the president pardon Mumtaz Qadri.
Following a spike in sectarian violence and reservations over his vitriolic sermons against the Shia community, district authorities in Rahim Yar Khan placed Malik Ishaq, leader of the banned organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), under house arrest for 10 days late Thursday night.
Ishaq was detained a day after 29 Shias were killed in Mastung in an attack claimed by the LeJ.A police contingent has been deployed outside Ishaq’s house and people have been barred from visiting him, district police officer Sohail Chatta said while talking to The Express Tribune.
Government of Punjab has given orders for Ishaq’s house arrest, said District Coordination Officer Rahim Yar Khan, Ahmed Javed Qazi, while talking to The Express Tribune.
Ishaq had received his passport to perform Umrah a few days ago, sources said.
He was released on bail in July after nearly 14 years behind bars over his alleged role in numerous sectarian murders and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team.
(Read: The release of Malik Ishaq)
Ishaq was acquitted in 34 of the 44 cases against him, involving the killing of 70 people, and granted bail in the remaining 10 cases, including the attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
However, sectarian tensions resurfaced following his release, prompted by his anti-Shia sermons across the country.
According to an official document prepared by a department working under Punjab government, available with The Express Tribune, Ishaq vowed to continue to kill “the enemies of the Sahaba (Prophet Muhammad PBUH’s companions)” at a seminar on September 4.
“LeJ is not a terrorist outfit. It was set up to ensure proper respect for the companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH),” Ishaq reportedly said.
Earlier, on Sunday, members of Ishaq’s entourage clashed with the Shia community in Muzaffargarh district, resulting in at least two deaths and ten injuries.
Ishaq had been flouting government’s orders by travelling across the province, since he is on an anti-terrorism watch list and is required to request permission before leaving the jurisdiction of his local police station.
