Home Newsreports 2008 April

Rabwah: Here is yet another case of how expedient politics and administration in Pakistan encourage clerics to gain power and clout that give rise eventually to monstrous situations like that of the Red Mosque of Islamabad.

Pakistan Amateur Basketball Federation announced holding an Under-19 Junior National Championship at Rabwah (Chenab Nagar) on 26 - 28 April, 2008. Teams from all the four provinces of the country, FATA and Azad Kashmir were expected to participate. Programming and conduct of this tournament was the responsibility of the Federation. There is some history behind this tournament, in that Rabwah has produced a number of well-known basketball players in the past, and the town is known by this identity as well.

Ninety-nine percent of the residents of Rabwah are Ahmadis, yet mullahs of the Khatme Nabuwwat (End of Prophethood) faction, representing an insignificant minority here, objected to the holding of the sports fixture. The administration that beats the drum of human rights decided to do the mulla’s bid when it faced protest from a few mullas (10 or 12, according to the intelligence reports) and saw a few statements in the press. The jittery Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) sent for the officials of the Ahmadiyya community as a party. He was told that:

However, the DSP Chenab Nagar had already decided conveniently (evidently in consultation with his superiors) to placate the mulla by trampling upon the civil rights of 99% of Rabwah’s population, who happen to be Ahmadis. He proceeded to issue his ‘Circular’ based on a fabrication. He stated therein that in pursuance of the ’agreement between the Ulama and the Ahmadiyya Jamaat’, it is decided not to hold the tournament as per previous practice.

Ahmadis protested against this Circular to the DSP Chenab Nagar Circle, and pointed to the mis-statement therein. “Ahmadiyya Community had made no agreement with mullas. The tournament had been scheduled by the Federation and the teams are associated with it. If you want to disallow the tournament, ask the Federation not to hold it. However, if you want to forbid us to play host or not offer our grounds, you should order us in writing,” conveyed the community officials.

In view of the above, the DSP issued a fresh Circular on April 25 stating, “You are requested, in view of the prevailing law and order situation, not to allow the tournament on the grounds of Chenab Nagar and ask the Federation to hold the tournament elsewhere. In order to ensure strict surveillance, duty personnel are being posted at the grounds.”

The Federation officials also met the DSP on their own, and told him that this sports tournament was not a religious event and the players’ faith was not at risk as suggested by the mulla. However, the DSP decided to go along with the clerics. In pursuance of the administration orders, the Federation decided to postpone the tournament. A few teams that had arrived already were well-received by locals, but they had to go back without playing.

It is also worth a mention that even after the administration had assured the mullas that the tournament will be disallowed, they went ahead with their protest congregation at the Jame Masjid at the local railway station on April 25, 2008. They lashed out there at the Ahmadiyya community and the administration. They spared the short-sighted political potentates — for the time being.

Discriminatory treatment of Ahmadis by the administration on behest of clerics has gone on for decades, but one could ask a few questions from the establishment and the civil society of Pakistan:

For how long the administration will remain in league with the mulla and stay proactive in denying fundamental rights to thousands of Ahmadi residents of Rabwah? One should not forget that for many years since Pakistan came into being, federations have been holding basketball tournaments in Rabwah (Chenab Nagar). This town produced a number of renowned basketball players; some of these represented this country on many occasions, and there was never a complaint about sectarian problem from any team or the federation. Now, this sport is banned on baseless accusation of clerics who have given it a religious colour in bad faith.

This incident is indicative of the discriminatory treatment meted out to the residents of Rabwah by the administration who finds it convenient to play subservient to unscrupulous clerics. The mulla had a big laugh, and felt encouraged to take on the state and society on some bigger issue at some future date.

The incident is particularly noteworthy as it is the first one of its kind in the initial days of the new political dispensation.

Thekrianwala, District Faisalabad: Field-report of this case was late in dispatch; it was received recently, so it is being reported this month. The incident happened four months ago in December 2007. Ahmadis of village Chak Nr. 89/GB were in the process of constructing their house of worship in the village. Their opponents invoked the anti-Ahmadiyya law to get a criminal case registered against them with the police. They pointed to the niche, the Kalima etc in the mosque and pretended ‘hurt feelings’, although the law does not specify that Ahmadiyya places of worship may not have a niche, Kalima etc. The complainants, who in fact are miscreants, pointed to the dome and stated that as it resembled the shape of the Prophet’s tomb, Ahmadis have thereby committed blasphemy, so they should be charged under the PPC 295C. They named nine Ahmadis for the FIR. The police registered the case, but made no arrests.

The case was registered in FIR 1024/2007 at Police Station Thekarianwala on December 15, 2007 under PPC 298-C and 298-B.

The accused Ahmadis are: Mukhtar, Amin, Aslam, Nasir, Dr Ali Ahmad, Yunus, Akram, Navid and Waseem. They face three years’ imprisonment if declared ‘guilty’.

Islamabad: “The February 18 elections were inherently flawed because of enduring problems with the framework and the conditions in which they were held, the European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) said in a report released Wednesday”, reported the Daily Times on April 17, 2008. Its headlines and an extract are reproduced below:

Islamabad: The Daily Times of April 15, 2008 reported an important statement of the prime minister as the following headline:

What the Prime Minister said is commendable. However, to allow religious freedom is easier said than done. Pakistan has been made a difficult terrain by the religio-political duet for the growth of this freedom in particular. The Prime Minister took over on March 26, 2008. The incidents reported in this report fall within the domain of responsibility of his government, and so will all the events that will be reported in these monthly reports in future. If the Prime Minister is sincere about the implementation of his policy, we expect these reports to become shorter and to disappear eventually. But let’s see.

Rabwah: The underground water at Rabwah is bitter and brackish, so the residents depend upon water provided by the local government. As the system originally provided was getting old, water supply became very problematic. Last year, reportedly a sum of Rs. 60 million was allocated to install new machinery, water tanks and piping. According to press reports, the concerned department has failed to complete the scheme satisfactorily and the Tehsil Municipal Administration is therefore reluctant to take it over for operations.

Press reports accuse the concerned department of being slow, doing a bad job, not replacing old pipes and using sub-standard material. A trial run of the system found it unsatisfactory, as leaks developed at numerous locations. As a result, the new system was shut down. The old system is not functional any more. The result: no water for many neighborhoods in the town. While the residents suffer, the TMA and the District authorities quarrel over who is responsible. The situation of water-supply is bad.

There is also the unavoidable talk of corruption and kick-backs in the project handling.

Faisalabad: Maulvi Faqir Muhammad is not an ordinary mulla; he is representative of a class, and calls himself Information Secretary of the Aalami Majlis Tahaffuz Khatme Nabuwwat. What he said recently and got printed in the daily Nawa-i-Waqt of April 23, 2008 is worth placing on record for posterity (full text):

It is indeed rare that such a brazen and ribald proposal is made in public these days by any cleric anywhere in the world. The Holy Prophet of Islam foretold and expressed his condemnation in such strong terms about the latter-day Ulama (Kanz-ul-Ummal; p.190/7) that it is better not quote it here. However, a milder comment can be mentioned here. Among the Punjabi Muslims it is an oft-quoted tradition that the wolves, when accused of having swallowed the boy Joseph (son of Prophet Jacob), offered that if they were guilty of that they should be raised, on the Day of Reckoning, in company of the Ulama of the 14th Century Hijrah.

Faisalabad; April 1, 2008: It has been reported earlier a number of times that clerics hold anti-Ahmadiyya sectarian conferences and call these Khatme Nabuwwat conference. At these occasions they freely pursue their political agenda and indulge in rhetoric about their national and international political perceptions. These conferences not only provide fertile ground for internal strife, they agitate the common man on international issues. Another one of such conferences was held, at Faisalabad by the Aalami Majlis Tahaffuz Khatme Nabuwwat in Peoples Colony. The daily Nawa-i-Waqt of April 2, 2008 reported its proceedings under a three column headline, and unabashedly printed their following comments and demands, inter alia:

	Anyone who is a friend of Qadianis is a foe of the Prophet of Islam.
	Qadianis are traitors to the cause of both Islam and Pakistan.
	All the ambassadors who represent countries, where blasphemy is undertaken, should be expelled.
	Ambassadors of Denmark, Holland and Norway etc should be thrown out.
	All the Qadianis’ periodicals should be banned.
	The constructed rooms of the Qadiani place of worship at Chak Nr. 84/GB should be demolished.
	The nine accused (Ahmadis) of Chak No. 79 G.B. mosque case should be arrested and sent to prison. PPC 295-C (the blasphemy clause) should be added to the PPC 298-B.
	The unnamed Christian accused, of the Pakistan Bible Society Lahore, who preached Christianity and distributed Christian books at Faisalabad should be prosecuted.
	Jamia Hafsa should be rebuilt as ordered by the Supreme Court, and Maulana Abdul Aziz should be reinstated as Khatib of the Red Mosque, Islamabad after honorable release.

It appears the clerics said little on the subject of ‘end of prophethood’; their press release and the ‘special correspondent’ truthfully makes no mention of that.

Lahore and Faisalabad: While it makes some sense that the mulla in 15th century after Hijrah becomes a symbol of obscurantism and bigotry, it is difficult to understand the rationale behind the policy of some frontline national papers to provide full support to such clerics in their unsupportable drives. Nawa-i-Waqt is one such ultra-right daily from Lahore. Hereunder, we quote a two-column news from its issue of April 21, 2008:

What a mulla, and what a national daily!

According to press reports, Ahmadis in Indonesia are facing a crisis situation. Not only they, as a religious community, are at risk of being ‘banned’ by the state, they have suffered mounting hurtful attacks by mobs led by Islamist clerics. Ahmadiyya mosques have been set on fire in Garut and Bogor, West Java, according to The Jakarta Post. The most recent attack was on their mosque at Parakan Salak village in Sukabami on April 20. At a meeting, a leader was filmed chanting “Kill Ahmadiyya! Kill! Kill! Kill!” In the face and threat of violence, Ahmadis had to flee from the village and seek refuge elsewhere, wherever they could.

Rather than controlling the extremists, the government has gone ahead with examining the proposal to ban Ahmadiyya. Apparently the ban idea is pushed by the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), a semi-official group. The coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in the Society, headed by Mr. Subroto, deputy attorney general for intelligence is also sympathetic to the idea. The proposal to ‘ban’ Ahmadiyya in Indonesia would be a more far-reaching and tyrannical act than that in Pakistan where Ahmadis were declared Non-Muslims and restrictions were placed on their practice of religion under Ordinance XX. By the end of the month of April, the Ministries of Home Affairs, the Religion and the Office of the Attorney General had drafted the law regarding the ban. Indonesian human rights organizations and a number of high officials within the government were opposed to the ban considering it unconstitutional and wrongful.

The reaction of the vocal Pakistani mullas was that of glee and support to the anti-Ahmadiyya campaign in Indonesia. Mullas and Islamists, who have now become apologetic and show accord to the pacific and tolerant interpretation of Islam, kept mum over the issue. None of them had the moral courage to tell Indonesian peers that Pakistan had gained nothing out of the futile anti-Ahmadiyya drive, so would not they . The anti-Ahmadi mullas, on the other hand gave vent to their great satisfaction, and the vernacular press provided space to report their glee. These mullas assumed that the ‘ban’ already had been imposed. Qari Usmani of the International Khatme Nabuwwat Movement welcomed ‘the announcement of the ban on the Qadiani mischief and congratulated the Indonesia government over the praiseworthy act’ (Nawa-i-Waqt; April 28). The same daily quoted mullas Ahmad Siraj and Syed Inayatulla of Kuwait as “Any band that is traitor to Islam and the End of Prophethood is destined to suffer disgrace and infamy, while Islam is a religion of peace and harmony; there is no room in it for terrorism and sectarianism.” How these fools presume that they can fool the world by their hypocrisy! The notorious mulla Faqir Muhammad of Faisalabad went a step further and suggested to the Indonesian government that it should now expel Ahmadis from Indonesia, and in fact all the 51 Islamic countries should do that (again, the daily Nawa-i-Waqt; April 23).

The daily Pakistan of April 27, 2008 quoted mulla Abdul Hafeez Makki as, “Soon, a delegation of the International Khatme Nabuwwat will proceed to Indonesia to convey its gratitude.” Mulla Abdul Hafiz Makki (of Makka) invited mulla Abdur Rahman Bawa, the Director of Khatme-Nabuwwat Academy (London) to a lunch meeting where the latter called for a ban in Pakistan on receiving transmissions from the Ahmadiyya TV channel (Nawa-i-Waqt; April 21, 2008).

The Jakarta Post.Com displayed on April 29, 2008 the following interview statement by Mr. Adnan Buyung Nasution, a member of the Presidential Advisory Council (extract):

Extremism has interesting and far-reaching links.

According to a press report, an Indonesian court sentenced a 63 years old Musaddiq alias Abu Salam, to four years in prison on charge of being a false claimant of prophecy, amid great applause by 2000 agitators assembled at the court. The administrative and judicial trends in that country are a cause of concern to Indonesians as well as the international community.

Basket ball champion ship (organized) by Qadianis at Chenab Nagar should be banned. The law forbids holding conferences and sports tournaments in Chenab Nagar. — Maulvi Faqir Muhammad The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore; April 28, 2008

EU observers say February 18 elections ‘inherently flawed”. Gahler (Chief Observer) specifically mentioned the Ahmadiyya Community saying that they had not been given equal treatment as guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan. The Daily Times, Lahore; April 17, 2008

Pakistan believes in religious freedom Islamabad: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Monday that Pakistan believed in complete religious freedom of minorities and would continue to protect and safeguard their rights as enshrined in the Constitution. The Daily Times, Lahore; April 15, 2008

The US is the greatest Satan in the world and its most trusted advisor is imposed upon Pakistan — Rafiq Tarar The daily Pakistan, Lahore; April 21, 2008

We shall not allow foreign conspiracies to annul the blasphemy law — Maulana Ilyas Chinioti The daily Ausaf, Lahore; April 01, 2008

Publication of sketches is a Qadiani conspiracy. — Khatme Nabuwwat Conference “Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto Shaheed won over hearts of the people by declaring Qadianis as (non-Muslim) minority. His monumental achievement will be written in golden letters in history”, said Syed Zia ullah Shah Bokhari of Jamiat Ahle Hadith. The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore; April 8, 2008

Qadianis should be declared non-Muslim minority and expelled from the country (of Indonesia) Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, the Information Secretary of the Aalami Majlis Khatme Nabuwwat’s demand from the President of the Indonesian Republic. The daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore; April 23, 2008

Bangladesh High Court, by maintaining the ban on Qadiani publications, has accorded the Majlis Tahaffuz Khatme Nabuwwat a great victory, said Maulana Allah Wasaya. The daily Jang, Lahore; April 8, 2008

Chenab Nagar residents are deprived of drinking water in the fiery hot weather. Water-works officials are happy in their cool rooms. The daily Aman, Faisalabad; April 27, 2008

Chenab Nagar, The cook of the Police Post is discovered to be a robber and head of a gang of thieves. Khushi Muhammad was arrested and brought over to the police post some years ago, but was retained as a cook. The daily Ausaf, Lahore; April 03, 2008

Mohmand Agency: Accusation of adultery; Taliban abduct the couple and stone them to death. The daily Jinnah, Lahore; April 03, 2008

Shariah law should replace FCR in Tribal Areas. Jamaat-e-Islami — NWFP Chief Sirajul Haq The Daily Times, Lahore; April 17, 2008

The government agrees to rebuild Jamia Hafsa on the original site; the Prime Minister invites proposals. The daily Khabrain, Lahore; April 4, 2008

Factory worker lynched for ‘blasphemy’. The deceased was identified as Jagdeesh Kumar, 22, of Mirpur Khas. The daily Dawn, Lahore; April 09, 2008

Lawyers clash, riots kill 7 in Karachi 40 vehicles torched. Five bodies found in building housing lawyers’ offices. The Daily Times, Lahore; April 10, 2008

Dr Sher Afgan Niazi thrashed by lawyers The Daily Times, Lahore; April 9, 2008

Ex-CM Sindh manhandled. Arbab says he was tortured, abused. The daily Frontier, Lahore; April 8, 2008

38 Balochistan ministers sworn in The daily Post, Lahore; April 24, 2008

TNSM Chief’s release After six years in jail, the aging leader of the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah-e-Mohammadi, Sufi Mohammad, has been released. The daily News (op-ed), Lahore; April 23, 2008

	Op-eds

Don’t fool the people In one horrific incident, not so published, a factory worker of a minority community was conveniently accused of blasphemy and literally beaten to pulp and to death by his fellow workers who are protected under Ziaul Haq’s iniquitous blasphemy laws which exist in our penal code to allow victimization and murder…Iman and insaniyat are rare commodities in this land of ours. Unless someone possessing both qualities spring up from somewhere to lead us, we will remain as we are — a failing state. Ardeshir Cowasjee in the Dawn of April 13, 2008

The death penalty Several alarming reports state that the death penalty in Pakistan is being applied without due process of law. There are serious dangers that innocent people are executed as clever litigants often manipulate oral evidence due to the lack of reliable forensic analysis thus subverting the course of justice. The situation is rather exacerbated by overworked judges, an under-resourced and corrupt criminal justice system as well duel system of law that carries a high probability of miscarriage of justice. Op-ed by Mirza Amjad Hussain in the Dawn; May 04, 2008

Download this report