A Press Release from International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
On the 20 June 2016, Chaudhry Khaliq Ahmad, son of Chaudhry Bashir Ahmad, was shot and killed in a religiously motivated attack in Karachi, carried out by unknown assailants. According to the information we have so far, the 49-year old Homeopathic practitioner was slain while tending to patients at his clinic in Sikandar Gotth, near Abul Hassan Isphani Road, Gulzar Hijri, Karachi. He received multiple gunshot wounds, including two to the head. Though he was rushed to the closest available hospital, he died on the way. After the assault, the attackers fled.
Chaudhry Khaliq Ahmad was a well-regarded member of the Ahmadiyya Community, who held no enmity against anyone. He was killed simply for reasons of his faith. Ahmadis have been victims of targeted killings in Karachi for years now. Just a few weeks ago another Ahmadi, Daud Ahmad, son of Haji Ghulam Mohiuddin, was killed in the same area in Karachi because of his religion.
It is shockingly distressful that the Government of Pakistan takes little notice of these horrendous murders of innocent, loyal Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan.
Words cannot describe the sorrow felt, not only by all Ahmadis in Pakistan and throughout the world, but the world community as well. It seems that there is no respite for Ahmadis even in the holy month of Ramadan (fasting).
Only recently, on 25 May 2016, another Ahmadi, Mr. Daud Ahmad, was killed in a similar targeted attack in Karachi. It appears that Ahmadis are being targeted in a schematic and methodical way. The authorities need to act quickly to put an end to these indiscriminate murders.
As of right now, Karachi’s Ahmadis are in a state of extreme vulnerability. The government must act to ensure their safety and security. Ever since the promulgation of anti-Ahmadi laws in 1984, 31 Ahmadis have been killed for their faith in Karachi and not a single perpetrator has been brought to justice for these crimes. This failure to uphold the law has only served to embolden extremists in carrying out further attacks.
Those who stand for freedom of religion and human rights should call on the Government of Pakistan to apprehend the killers of Ahmadis as quickly as possible and send out a clear message that such attacks will not be tolerated and will be dealt with in the harshest terms.
Most importantly, the Government of Pakistan should ensure that all citizens enjoy freedom of religion and civic protection as stipulated in the Constitution of Pakistan.
