Pakistani court orders anti-blasphemy sit-in be cleared in Islamabad

---

"We have been told to clear the protest, by hook or by crook. We have been told to enlist the services of the [paramilitary] Rangers and FC as well, if required."

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: Al Jazeera
By Asad Hashim | November 17, 2017

Islamabad, Pakistan - A Pakistani court has ordered authorities to clear an anti-blasphemy protest that has blocked a major highway into the capital Islamabad for the last 10 days, prompting fears of clashes between police and demonstrators.

Hundreds of demonstrators remained gathered at the protest site on Friday, located at a major entry point to the city, vowing to hold their ground unless their demands were met.

"We have been told to clear the protest, by hook or by crook," said Mushtaq Ahmed, a top local administration official. "We have been told to enlist the services of the [paramilitary] Rangers and FC as well, if required."

The protesters first gathered at the Faizabad interchange on November 8, demanding the resignation of the federal law minister over a change of wording in an electoral law that they perceived as softening the state's official designation of members of the Ahmadi sect as non-Muslim.

Ahmadis are a minority sect, numbering in the hundreds of thousands in Pakistan and up to 10 million worldwide, who identify as Muslim while maintaining that the Prophet Muhammad was succeeded by the founder of their faith, Mirza Ghulam Ahmed, as a "subordinate prophet" in the late 19th century.

They face widespread discrimination in Pakistan and other Muslim-majority countries. In Pakistan, they are forbidden from referring to themselves as Muslim and are frequently the target of violent attacks.

[more ...]


Read original post here: Pakistani court orders anti-blasphemy sit-in be cleared


This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Times of Ahmad. Times of Ahmad is not an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites.