An article by Nasim Malik published by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PAKISTAN: A year on from the Lahore attacks but Ahmedis still suffering
A day of ghastly sight of gristly, gruesome bloodshed of Ahmadis in Lahore Pakis
tan
A year after the terrifying horrendous massacre of 86 Ahmadis of the Ahmadiyya M
uslim Community in Lahore, Pakistan the world remains deeply in shock, appalled
by that act of religious terrorism, cold bloodedly covered up by the government
of Pakistan.
The 86 murdered were part of a Friday worship service in Darul Zikr mosque in La
hore and Baitul Noor mosque in Model, Town, Lahore. During the course of this ca
rnage nearly 150 people were seriously injured.
The very next day the security forces arrested 6 terrorists who confessed that t
hey had carried out the attack on the Darul Zikr mosque but no action to this da
y has been taken against anyone. Both the mosques are in close proximity of poli
ce stations who could clearly hear the gun shots and blasts but they did not sho
w up on site until the terrorists had exhausted all their ammunition stock. Even
on arrival the police did not allow the emergency services to enter the mosque
which could have saved many innocent lives of worshippers.
The families of the victims of this carnage received no support or assistance fr
om the government whatsoever and the widows and the orphans are left to suffer a
nd fend for themselves.
The government of Pakistan usurped the fundamental basic human rights, rights of
religious freedom of Ahmadis in Pakistan by declaring them non-Muslims in 1974.
This was perpetuated by the infamous Ordinance XX promulgated by General Zia ul
Haq under which Ahmadi Muslims can be sentenced to death or imprisoned for prac
tising the Islamic faith or using the Islamic scriptures or epithets.
Over 200 Ahmadi Muslims have been murdered in Pakistan for following their faith
since 1974 and several hundred prosecuted and imprisoned under the infamous Bla
sphemy laws.
Pakistan today is infected with Islamists persisting in their hard-line interpre
tation of Islam based on force and violence to promote their objectives and prom
ote terrorist activities resulting in frightful loss of innocent lives on a dail
y basis.
The federal government has taken no effective bold step to curb and eliminate th
e activities of extremists who are continuing to erode the very values on which
Pakistan was established.
The political parties in Pakistan too have shown no indication to confront the r
eligious bigotry, extremism and violence which has shattered the social and econ
omic fabric of the society.
Pakistan is a signatory to the UN Human Rights Charter and its ancillary declara
tions but is attitude and treatment of minorities particularly Ahmadis is deplor
able.
Ahmadis now well established in 198 countries of the world have earned a worldwi
de reputation of being a very tolerant law abiding and peace loving community. T
hey have been treated horribly, unjustly and discriminately to the extent they c
annot even vote but they have never protested or acted against the state of Paki
stan.
Ahmadi generals shed their blood in the Pakistan wars to protect its integrity a
nd today the government of Pakistan is not showing the slightest regard for the
rights, safety and security of Ahmadis in Pakistan.
The 28 May 2010 massacre gives an undeniable slur of cruelty and atrocity upon P
akistan and its continued injustice and violation of the fundamental rights of A
hmadis will not go in vain. It is time that the government of Pakistan sanely at
tends to its obligations towards all its subjects without discrimination to save
itself from a path of destruction on which it is treading. It is now high time
for the government of Pakistan to act.
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The views shared in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the AHRC, a
nd the AHRC takes no responsibility for them.
About the Author:
Mr. Nasim Malik was a Swedish Socialdemocrat politician and was elected as a res
erve member of the Swedish Parliament and President of the International Wing of
the Socialdemocrats Kalmar. He can be reached at nasim.malik@kalmar.se