Pakistan, Ahmadi neighborhood torched over 'blasphemy' charge: Grandmother and grandchildren die
Islamabad (AsiaNews) - Another atrocity has been committed in Pakistan in the name of "blasphemy." A woman and her two grandchildren - of 1 and 7 years of age - died in an arson attack on the Colony of Gujrawala Arafat, a city 220 kilometers southeast of Islamabad on July 27. The victims belong to the Ahmadis Muslim community. The mob violence was sparked by a post on Facebook by a young boy from the group, judged blasphemous by one of his "friends" on the social network.
According to police reports, Aqib Salim, 17, posted a "blasphemous"
picture which angered his Muslim friend Saddam Hussain. The two began to argue,
attracting the attention of about 150 people. The group went to the police
station to register a case of blasphemy. While police negotiated with the crowd,
another group attacked the Ahmadis' homes.
Spokesman for the community, Salim ud Din, says that it is
"the worst attack suffered in over four years, when our places of worship were
attacked simultaneously, and 86 people were killed." " Police were
there but just watching the burning. They didn't do anything to stop the
mob," he said. "First they looted their homes and shops and then they
burnt the homes". In the fire eight others were injured, but the "offender"
was not.
Founded in India in the late 19th century, the Ahmadi doctrine
is considered "heretical" by much of the Muslim world, both Sunni and
Shiite. It honors its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, and has beliefs related to
other religions. In Pakistan, the law bans followers from using Islamic greetings
and prayers, and to refer to their places of worship as "mosques".
This is why the Ahmadis as a community - together with Christians - are often
the victims of the blasphemy laws used to persecute minorities. According to
these laws, those found "guilty" of the crime of blasphemy could be
sentenced to death.
On July 2 Paul Bhatti, former Federal Minister for National Harmony and APMA leader (All Pakistan Minorities Alliance), spoke at a conference for the implementation of a moratorium on the death penalty organized by the UN High Commissioner human Rights and the permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations. In support of the moratorium, he pointed out that "the death penalty may encourage terrorism and perpetuate a culture of death. A government-sanctioned execution broadcasts an unambiguous message to its citizens that punishment by death is justified. But the problem is that extremist terrorists are co-opting the state's prerogative for their own malicious objectives. Death perpetuates death" . So " Often, false accusations are hurled to settle personal scores, to target easy victims, who mostly belong to the oppressed and marginalized sector of the community. And to further extremist agendas, breeding real acts of violence against them, including execution".
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