E/CN.4/1993/62
page 82
It has been reported that a number of Ahmadi mosques have been
desecrated, sealed, damaged or completely destroyed or burnt without the
prosecution of those who were responsible for such acts. Ahmadis are said to
be denied burial in common cemeteries and their bodies have allegedly been
exhumed from their graves. In addition, prominent Ahmadis have allegedly been
harassed and on occasion fire was set to their homes. Ordinance XX has
reportedly been invoked to have ’Kalima’ stickers removed from vehicles and
its inscription erased from walls. Ahmadis are said to have been denied the
use of loudspeakers at their religious gatherings. It has also been alleged
that mullah Manzoor Chinioti had urged the audience at a public gathering in
Sukheki, Gujranwala, to start the Jihad (holy war) against Ahmadis since they
were apostates and as such deserved the death penalty. The same clergyman is
also said to have announced plans to eradicate Ahmadis from the city of
Bhakkar. It has further been alleged that Mr. Maqbool Elahi Malik, the
Advocate General of Punjab, had stated that an Ahmadi imparting religious
education to his children would be liable to capital punishment as this would
amount to religious propaganda aiming to make the children apostates.
The following specific incidents involving Ahmadis have been brought to
the attention of the Special Rapporteur:
Abdul Shakoor, the owner of ’Shakoor Opticians Rabwah’ store in
Sargodha whose case was mentioned by the Special Rapporteur in his report
(E/CN.4/1991/56), had been arrested on 11 March 1990 for wearing a ring with
verses from the Koran. On 27 July 1991, Mr. Shakoor is said to have been
sentenced by Mr. Ejaz Hussain Baloch, Magistrate 1st Class in Sargodha, to
three years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 rupees.
On 14 June 1991, the authorities of Khando, Larkana district, did not
allow an old Ahmadi woman’s body to be buried in the cemetery of that
locality. Relatives who came to attend the funeral and who were ultimately
obliged to bury her in the courtyard of the Ahmadi mosque, are said to have
been subjected to intimidation by opponents of their faith.
Rana Karamatullah, an elderly farmer and businessman from Abbotabad,
North-West Frontier Province, was among a group of 55 Ahmadis who are alleged
to have met on 12 January 1990 for a prayer meeting in a private household.
Khatme Nabuwat Youth Force, a local Islamic group, is said to have informed
the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the meeting and the following day cases
were registered against 12 of the participants for offering prayers and citing
from the Holy Koran under Section 298C of the Pakistan Penal Code. They were
allegedly also accused under Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order
Ordinance and Section 107 of the Criminal Procedure Code for disturbing law
and order despite the peaceful nature of the meeting. Mr. Karamatullah, who
had been subjected to repeated arrests since 1984, was among the 12 persons
against whom cases had been registered. On 30 June 1991, Mr. Karamatullah
reportedly died in a car accident together with nine other persons, allegedly
in suspicious circumstances.
On 9 July 1991, the police, acting on a complaint filed by the local
mullah (Muslim clergyman), Salman Munir, allegedly raided an Ahmadi place of
worship in Sambrial, Sialkot district, and charged the following six Ahmadis,
including the president of the local community, under Sections 295A and 298C