The UN expressed deep concern at the grave human rights violations against the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan

Ahmadiyya community denounces yet another murder in Pakistan

On 12 August 2022, Nasir Ahmad, a 62-year-old Muslim Ahmadi, was stabbed to death at the main bus stop in Rabwah, Pakistan. A religious fanatic stabbed him repeatedly for not chanting slogans in praise of Khadim Rizvi, a Pakistani hate preacher who defends the country's unjust blasphemy laws. Ahmad died on the spot after succumbing to stab wounds. The killer was reciting a slogan of Khadim Rizvi at the time of the attack. 

Mr. Nasir Ahmad leaves behind a widow and 3 daughters. According to the information received, he was an active member of the community and his Friday routine was to go to the cemetery like many other Muslim Ahmadis to pray for their loved ones.

 The killer Hafiz Muhammad Shahzad Hasan Sialvi Rizvi belongs to a village near Silanwali, District Sargodha, Pakistan. He got admission in Anwar-ul-Quran Madrassa in Muhaamad Wala Police Station area in 2005 and graduated in 2010. The population of Rabwah is 95 per cent Muslim Ahmadis and the Ahmadis themselves are no longer safe even in this town. The hate campaign against Muslim Ahmadis means that no Ahmadi today feels safe in Pakistan. The promoters of the hate campaign are well known, yet the government takes no action against them according to the law. 

These killings, attacks and threats have created a sense of deep insecurity among members of the Ahmadi community, while Ahmadis across Pakistan live in a deep atmosphere of fear. We keep the international community informed in the hope that it will take a stern attitude towards these horrific acts of barbarism in Pakistan and ensure the safety of the peaceful members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in that country. 

On 13 July 2021, UN human rights experts expressed their deep concern at the lack of attention to the grave human rights violations perpetrated against the Ahmadiyya Community around the world and called on nations to redouble their efforts to end the ongoing persecution of the Ahmadis. 

We therefore urge our authorities in Spain to call on the Government of Pakistan to live up to its responsibility to provide effective protection and freedom of religious practice to the Ahmadis, to bring the perpetrators of these heinous attacks to justice and to bring its laws and practices into line with international standards, as set out in Article 20 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 2 and 18, and Articles 25 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

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