"We write to urge a formal investigation into the tragic killing of Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar an American citizen from Pickerington, Ohio who was targeted and killed in Pakistan simply because he was an Ahmadi Muslim."
Source/Credit: Ahmadiyya Times
By Staff Report | July 16, 2014
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the United States has taken up the matter of a slain American cardiologist, Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar, who was gunned down in Pakistan in late May because of his faith.
With an effort lead by the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 15th congressional district, Steve Stivers, more than 3 dozen members of Congress have written last week to the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, strongly condemning Dr. Qamar's murder and urging the State Department to formally condemn the act and pursue an investigation into the matter.
Dr. Qamar of Columbus, Ohio, -- an Ahmadi Muslin by faith -- was on a mercy medical mission in Pakistan when 2 gunmen riding a motorcycle shot him 10 times at close range in the central Punjab town of Rabwah, Chanab Nagar.
In June, Rep. Stivers took "Justice for Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar" demand to the floor of the House of Representatives at Capitol Hill for support in asking "the State Department to institute a formal investigation looking into the killing of Dr. Qamar, as well as look into the increasing violence against Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan."
"I urge my colleagues to sign a letter to the U.S. State Department regarding these issues. It is important to bring Dr. Qamar's murderers to justice and ensure the Government of Pakistan protects its religious minorities," Rep. Stivers said. [Speech video here]
As a result of the Rep. Stivers' call from the House floor and legwork by the Ahmadiyya Muslim public affairs team in numerous one-on-one meetings with lawmakers, on July 11, thirty-seven lawmakers banded together and wrote to the US State Department to take action in Dr. Qamar's case.
"We write to urge a formal investigation into the tragic killing of Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar an American citizen from Pickerington, Ohio who was targeted and killed in Pakistan simply because he was an Ahmadi Muslim," the letter stated. "The targeting and murder of Dr. Qamar, as well as other violent acts by extremists, have been emboldened and fueled by Pakistan's laws which label Ahmadis as "non-Muslim"."
"Such laws should be condemned at the highest levels of the Pakistani and United States government," the letter further demanded.
The letter expalined that according to the 2014 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report, Pakistan is one of the world's worst environments for practicing religious freedom due to its chronic sectarian violence against religious minorities, including Ahmadi Muslims.
"Pakistani authorities constantly enforce repressive blasphemy laws and anti-Ahmadi laws used to violate religious freedoms," the letter again stressed.
Amjad Mahmood Khan, Esq., national director of public affairs for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, says he is pleased with the outcome due to Rep. Stivers' efforts and with tremendous work put in by his team to educate lawmakers about the plight of Ahmadi Muslims and other minorities in Pakistan.
"I commend Rep. Stivers for leading the effort, along with 36 of his colleagues in Congress, to urge Secretary Kerry to condemn the tragic murder of Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar, a heroic American doctor from Ohio," Amjad Khan told Ahmadiyya Times via email.
"Dr. Qamar's murder in Pakistan on account of his Ahmadi Muslim faith is emblematic of the larger plight of religious minorities in Pakistan, who are the target of unspeakable violence by militants acting with impunity," Mr Khan further added.
A PDF copy of the letter can be found here - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_YZNiYJrd9pX0haZGZkLWkzZlk/edit?usp=sharing
-- USA: 37 Members of Congress urge Sec. Kerry to condemn Dr. Qamar's murder
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