BradfordToday and InnisfilToday welcome letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). BradfordToday received the following about the alleged persecution of the Ahmadis in Pakistan.
Since the UN's adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Day in 1948, Dec. 10 is marked each year to commemorate the contribution of the UN towards the proliferation of human rights. However, as much as the concept of universal human rights is widespread, the ongoing negligence of various countries prevents everyone from enjoying equal rights.
On Dec. 5, a member of the Ahmadiyya Community, Tayyab Ahmad was killed in broad daylight in Rawalpindi, Pakistan for his faith by an assailant who allegedly used an axe to carry out the attack.
The plight of Ahmadis in Pakistan is a tragic example of persecution of a minority group. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community often faces marginalization, killings of its members and violence at the hands of state authorities and extremist groups. The Community has been banned from their right to practice religion and freedom of speech and expression. Changes in the Pakistan Penal Code in recent years make it a criminal offence for Ahmadis to profess, practice and preach their faith. If they are observed practicing their faith by someone, they are incarcerated by the state and if not, then often obstructed by violent mobs.
Despite the calls from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, the Pakistani government has largely remained silent, and either turned a blind eye to the persecution of Ahmadis or, at worst, endorsed it. Given the urgency of the matter, it is not too late for the UN to take the ongoing plight of Ahmadis seriously.
The Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, has explicitly highlighted that the primary objective of the United Nations should be to establish unity and trust among nations so that global peace may become a living reality rather than a distant dream.
Thus, we need the UN to step up and engage with civil societies to address the prevalent ongoing persecution of Ahmadis, or else the road ahead for Ahmadis in Pakistan remains dire.
Bibi Zainab
Bradford
