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Mid-Ranjha, District Sargodha: On Friday, November 10, 2000 around 09:00 PM a local Mullah Athar Shah led a procession, comprising of people gathered from 6-7 nearby villages. They surrounded the Ahmadiyya Mosque and started chanting anti-Ahmadiyya slogans. Some Ahmadis were present inside the mosque busy in Isha (night) prayers. The mob got violent and attacked the Mosque, completely destroying it and axing to death the five Ahmadis present there. According to reports Ahmadiyya community was receiving threats from local Mulla that they will treat them like their people treated Ahmadis at Ghatiyalian (Pasrur). Ahmadis tried to seek help from Police and were told to keep calm. When the Mosque was attacked by the Mosque, Ahmadis phoned the local Police but there was no action. When Police arrived at the scene, it was too late. Here are the reports as they appeared in Pakistani newspapers.
Five killed in sectarian clash By Our Correspondent SARGODHA, Nov 10: Five people were reportedly killed in what believed to be a sectarian clash in a village near Midh Ranjha, 60km from here, on Friday night. Source: http://www.dawn.com/2000/11/11/top14.htm
Curfew-like situation in Midh Ranjha By Our Correspondent
13 November 2000 Just 10 days after the murder of five members of the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan, another five Ahmadis, including two children, were murdered in their mosque in Sargodha district. "The official silence around the religiously motivated murders on 30 October and the lack of police investigation have directly contributed to a climate in which extremists feel encouraged to harass, attack and kill members of the country's religious minorities," Amnesty International said today. As in the case of the earlier attack on village Ghatialian, months of tension over religious issues preceded the latest incident in village Takht Hazara in Sargodha district, Punjab. The local authorities took no action against anti-Ahmadi demonstrations and desecration of Ahmadi graves by orthodox Muslims led by the local mullah. They advised Ahmadis who approached them for help to remain calm but took no protective or preventive measures. In the early hours of Friday 10 November, the mullah led a mob through the streets shouting anti-Ahmadi slogans. As they approached the Ahmadi mosque, people inside phoned police asking for protection. The mob swelled quickly, broke into the mosque and attacked and killed four Ahmadis, mutilating their bodies with axes. They then ransacked the building and set it on fire. One of the injured persons, a 14-year-old schoolboy, later died of his injuries. The police arrived when the incident was over. "How many more people have to die for their religion before the Government of Pakistan takes action and clearly and publicly states that such violence will not be tolerated? Freedom of religion is a right laid down in the country's Constitution --it is time this was made a reality," Amnesty International said. Background Police investigation of some 20 killings of Ahmadis over the past seven years have been slow or did not take place at all; not one of the perpetrators has been brought to justice. Amnesty International has been informed that no police investigation has so far taken place into the killing of five Ahmadis in Ghatialian village on 30 October.
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