In the last 60 days, five Ahmadis, including a woman professor were shot dead. One person was shot and injured in a calculated manner in order to eliminate Ahmadis from the country. For many decades the Ahmadi places of worship (mosques), houses, cemeteries, clinics and educational institutions were attacked and many professionals murdered.
On May 3, in the latest event in Punjab, a faithful Ahmadi citizen of Pakistan was brutally murdered for his Faith and beliefs.
Mr. Basharat Ahmad, 62, was known as a kind and courteous member of society in the Khanpur, District Rahimyarkhan, Punjab province. He had lived in the area most of his life and managed a petrol station. The local community expressed its dissatisfaction at the unfeeling response of the Police to this appalling incident. He has left behind his widow and 3 children, a daughter and 2 sons. On the day of the incident, Basharat Ahmad was returning home from work. On the way, unknown gunman approached and shot him at point blank range leaving him dead on the road. The 62-year-old sustained two bullet wounds. As he did not receive any immediate help he died on the spot.
His killing was the result of a growing wave of hatred against Ahmadis in Pakistan. The Mullahs, religious leaders, have a lack of restrictions plus the support of the Police to hold rallies, inciting people to kill Ahmadis.
We urge the World Communities to condemn this barbaric attack in Pakistan. They need to take uncompromising action to stop such violations of freedom of religion and fundamental human rights. Good governance and democracy demands that all citizens be provided with a safe and secure environment. The authorities of law and order must provide protection for all without any form of discrimination.
Ahmad is the fourth Ahmadi to have been killed in the province in the past five weeks.
On April 18, Professor Tahira Malik was killed at her residence in Punjab University, Lahore. On April 7 Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad, a veterinary doctor and a PhD in food and nutrition, was on his way to worship and offer prayers when he was targeted in the Sabzazar area of Lahore.
On March 30, lawyer, Malik Saleem Latif – a cousin of Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam – was gunned down in Nankana Sahib, Punjab. He was going by motorcycle to the Courts with his son Malik Awais. The son sustained a bullet wound and was injured in the attack.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has long demanded that the blasphemy laws in Pakistan be abolished. Any new laws must be formulated through the Parliament. The existing laws were made and amended during the military regime of General Ziaul Haq. Their aim was to spread bigotry and religious hatred among the different Islamic sects.
The AHRC advocates Legislators to review the Sections 295 C, 298 B with all sub-classes and 298 C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Reform it and effect new challenges. These sections of the PPC are the main sources instigating fundamentalists to take the law into their own hands and annihilate religious opponents.
