Pakistan: Ahmadi Mulsim killed for his faith in Faisalabad

Faisalabad has been a scene of continuous Anti-Ahmadiyya hate campaigns by certain religious extremist groups prompting their followers to kill Ahmadi Muslims.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Ahmadiyya Times
By Imran Jattala | September 4, 2011

An Ahmadi  Muslim was murdered in Faisalabad earlier today, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Pakistan has reported in a press release.

The news first broke over the social media on the internet yesterday in the mid-afternoon about the murder of one Naseem Ahmad Butt, a laborer and a fruit vendor from Faisalabad.

According to the details provided in the press release, the victim was a 55 years old man from the Muzaffar Colony area.

The victim was a poor laborer who worked in power looms to make ends meet for his family, it was reported.

Four men jumped walls to break-into the victim’s house, the report said, while he slept inside during the very early morning hours of Sunday, September 4.

 The killers indiscriminately fired upon the victim shooting him several times in his stomach and in his back.

The shooters immediately fled the scene and disappeared into the night.

The badly injured victim was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries around mid morning.

Mr Butt is survived by his wife, four daughters and one son.

Mr Naseem Butt’s remains will be taken to Rabwah for burial, it was further reported.

Mr. Saleem Uddin, a representative of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan has condemned the murder in stronger possible terms while demanding the arrest and prosecution of the killers.

Faisalabad has been the scene of continuous Anti-Ahmadiyya hate campaigns by certain religious extremist groups prompting their followers to kill Ahmadi Muslims.

As result of the hate campaigns against Ahmadis several members of the community have been killed in the city.

According to the press release today, 11 Ahmadis have been murdered in Faisalabad since the former dictator Gen Zia-ul Haq enacted Ordinance XX that made it illegal for the Ahmadī Muslims to freely practice their faith.

About two months ago Anti-Ahmadiyya pamphlets were distributed in the city calling for the killing of Ahmadis 'in the open and on the streets' by one extremist organization known as Khatam-e Nubuwwat.

Neither the federal government nor the Punjab authorities reported any action taken against the culprits who are initiating the hate campaign in the Punjab.

The government’s inaction has emboldened the extremist’s actions against the Ahmadiyya community, many rights groups have reported.

  -- Ahmadiyya Times
  -- @AtifAhmadS contributed to the story. Follow: http://twitter.com/atifahmads
  -- By Imran Jattala: Follow Imran Jattala in twitter: http://twitter.com/ijattala