In the statement, the spokesperson further noted that in most cases, it’s the police that carry out the desecration of Ahmadi graves. There has been a rise in incidents of vandalisation of Ahmadi worship places and graves in the past few months.

On Sept. 23, the Punjab police desecrated more than 70 tombstones of Ahmadis in Daska, Sialkot, in the wee hours.

On Sept. 26, Ahmadi worship places in Sheikhupura and Okara were vandalised in two separate attacks. Moreover, an Ahmadi superintendent of police (SP) faced threats from religious quarters in Mandi Bahauddin during that week. These incidents targeting the community continue to take place despite the Lahore High Court’s recent verdict that barred the police from demolishing Ahmadi worship places that were built before the passage of Ordinance XX in 1984. The ordinance, promulgated by military dictator Zia ul Haq, had made it a criminal offence for Ahmadis to use Islamic terms and titles or “pose as Muslims”. Religious extremists who demolish Ahmadi worship places cite this law to justify their actions, and the authorities often side with the attackers.

On August 21, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar mentioned Ahmadis along with other minorities during his speech condemning the Jaranwala incident where churches and Christian homes were burnt by a mob over blasphemy allegations. But since that speech, several Ahmadi worship places have been desecrated in Pakistan.

This year alone, there were 18 attacks on Ahmadi places of worship in the country. According to the community, the police either take part in the desecration or give a free hand to extremist individuals to attack the worship places.

News Desk

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While the factors that contributed to this lack of progress in scientific research in Pakistan are multifold, religious bigotry has been one of the main hurdles. Pakistan’s first Nobel laureate Dr. Abdus Salman, who was once leading the country’s efforts to develop its space and nuclear programmes and had founded Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Corporation (SUPARCO), was later shunned due to his Ahmadi faith.

In 1961, Dr Abdus Salam collaborated with late Pakistan Air Force (PAF) commodore WJM Turowicz to set up SUPARCO. When SUPARCO was established, its founders and scientists who were part of it worked tirelessly to develop scientific research in Pakistan. Pakistani scientists were connected with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It was expected that within a decade or two, Pakistan would be able to send its own satellites into space. But this dream soon came crashing down.

Dr Abdus Salam’s collaborations with NASA eventually stopped after he was snubbed with the Ahmadi community being declared non-Muslim through an amendment to the Constitution in 1974. Salam then left Pakistan for England, orphaning the country’s space programmes and quitting his efforts of developing scientific research in Pakistan. Thereafter, the government of Pakistan lost interest in improving Pakistan’s space programme with the help of international researchers and scientists.

Due to his Ahmadi faith, Dr Abdus Salam was never duly acknowledged and celebrated for his achievements despite being the country’s first Nobel prize winner. Salam passed away in 1996 in Oxford, United Kingdom, and was laid to rest in his hometown, the Ahmadi majority city of Rabwah. The epitaph on his tomb initially said “First Muslim Nobel Laureate”, but the then government of Pakistan removed the word “Muslim” and left only his name on the headstone.

The way Salam was shunned for his religious identity in spite of his dream to take Pakistan’s space programme to new heights reflects how bigotry and extremism has always costed Pakistan dearly.

News Desk

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