Pakistan: Pressured by extremists, education institution expels Ahmadi student

According to several firsthand reports cited by Al Ufaq, TKN, an outfit known for disseminating anti-Ahmadiyya propaganda had produced and placed anti-Ahmadiyya hate posters throughout campus targeting the sentiments of Ahmadi Muslim students.

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Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Al Ufaq / Atif S. Ahmad
By Imran Jattala | November 25, 2011

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT)  Lahore expelled an Ahmadi student accused of blasphemy, it was reported today.

Rabia Saleem, A female Ahmadi student of the final year, was accused of Blasphemous actions by the student wing of a terrorist organization, Tahaffuz-e-Khatima-eNabuwwat (TKN), it was first reported by an online news website, Al Ufaq (The Horizon).

According to several firsthand reports cited by Al Ufaq, TKN, an outfit known for disseminating anti-Ahmadiyya propaganda had produced and placed anti-Ahmadiyya hate posters throughout the university campus adversely targeting the Ahmadi Muslim students sentiments.

Ms. Saleem was accused of removing the hate material attacking her faith and sentiments of other Ahmadi Muslim students, it was independently reported to Al Ufaq.
Mr. Rasheed Ahmed Khan, the Registrar of the institute denied there was any connection between Ms. Saleem’s faith and here expulsion from the institution.

“Rabia Saleem has been expelled for violating the discipline of the Institution and not complying with the rules and regulation,” Khan was reported to said.

Khan declined to provide a copy of the notice that was served to the student, Al Ufaq reported, and also refused to provide any more details.

Ms. Saleem was witnessed by a hostel guard removing the posters who then “accused her of committing Blasphemy by dishonoring verses of the Holy Quran and sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad,” it was reported by a student, whose name was withheld by Al Ufaq to protect her identity.

“The poster actually did not contain any Aya'at or Hadith,” the student clarified.

“Rabia removed a page from hostel door which had words against Qadianis. She is a Qadiani herself. The hostel guard saw her removing the poster. He then exploited the situation,” the student explained.

TKN-members at CIIT were also found propagating hate directly against Rabia Saleem and other Ahmadi students on campus and launched a Facebook event page to pressurize COMSATS management, it was reported.

Speaking over the telephone with Al Ufaq, a Faculty member of COMSATS said the issue did not need to escalate.

“The matter could have been resolved among them or with the hostel warden, but the administration used it for false propaganda against the Ahmadi Student,” the faculty member told Al Ufaq.

Ahmadis have lived in continuous fear and cases of persecution and hate such as this at COMSATS campus, are on the rise. So far the Ministry of Education or any State organ have taken no measures against the perpetrators of hate crimes against Ahmadis.

Jahanzaib (Jay) Haque, Web Editor and a blogger at The Express Tribune made a quick visit to the Facebook event page setup by the student demanding expulsion of Ms. Saleem and some were asking for her head.

There were many posts inciting hate, or worse, plotting murder of Rabia Saleem, Jay reported.

One Facebook user, Adil Amin, instructed his fellow student saying ‘you should @@ slap her . do not care about police,” and further added that he will personally notify the Islamist extremist group “ISLAMIC jamiyat talba” (aka Jamiat Tulab-e-Islam).

“These Qadiyani should be expel [sic] from university  ... they have no right to live in PAKISTAN ...,” Adil Amin returned to the Facebook Event page to assert again.

Muhammad Abdul Ahad chimed in saying “she shud hv been killed…” and Faixee Faizan Ch said “u ppl are too la[z]ee - usay shoot kr dete (Should have shot her).”

And, then came one Ali Raza with a long diatribe against campus management and fellow students alleging they weren’t stern enough in dealing with the Qadiani ‘bastard’girl, adding “..she should be killed by boys…”

“I am at a loss for words,” wrote Jay. “It is not unlike living in Nazi Germany, where even those Germans who felt the persecution against the Jews was terrorism could not dare open their mouths for fear of being labeled a traitor, or a Jew themselves.”

“How do you fight an enemy planted inside the mind itself?” Jay asked.

An email seeking comments from Dr. Mahmood Ahmad Bodla, CIIT director; and Mr. Rashid Ahmad Khan, Additional Registrar at CIIT was not responded to as of this writing.


This report was adopted from the story first reported by Al Ufaq on November 24, 2011, and from Jay Haque blog.


  -- Education institute COMSATS harbors extremists, expels Ahmadi student

  -- Ahmadiyya Times

  -- Imran Jattala