Pakistan: Occupations of Ahmadis in high-level positions

Comprehensive information on the positions which Ahmadis hold in Pakistani society is not currently available to the IRBDC. The U.S. Department of State Country Reports 1988 alleges that there are "credible reports of discrimination against Ahmadis in the military and civil service". [United States Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989), p. 1469.] In an article, "Miffed Minorities", (India Today) dated 31 March 1989, there is an allusion to a comment made by an Ahmadi businessman (who asserts that Bhutto will be unable to change Ordinance XX), thus demonstrating that Ahmadis are represented in the business environment. [M. Rahman, "Miffed Minorities", India Today, 31 March 1989, p. 160. (attached)] Further information on Ahmadis occupying high positions in the civil service, business or the military is not among the sources currently available to the IRBDC.

The following information on the situation of Ahmadis in Pakistan discusses the main problems members of the faith encounter in Pakistan:

"The Ahmadiyya Movement was founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad... [who] claimed to have received revelations that in his person the Mahdi had become present and that he was `also the Promised Messiah and was indeed the Prophet whose advent had been foretold in the principal religions of the world.'" [Judge Gustaf Petrén et al., Pakistan: Human Rights After Martial Law, (Geneva: International Commission of Jurists, 1987), p. 103.] The Lahori Group is an offshoot of the Ahmadiyya Movement, and seceded shortly after Mirza Ghulam Ahmed died in 1908. "They do not accept [Mirza Ghulam Ahmed's] prophethood but they do adhere to his views regarding Jehad and the death of Christ and are always included in the legislation directed at the Ahmadis." [Petrén, p. 105.]

On 7 September 1974, the Ahmadis were declared non-Muslim in a constitutional amendment by the government of Pakistan under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. [Judge Gustaf Petrén, et al. Pakistan: Human Rights After Martial Law, Geneva: International Commission of Jurists, 1987, p. 103; U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1989), p. 1468.] In April 1984, President Zia issued Ordinance XX, which provides for prison terms of up to three years or unlimited fines for any member of the Ahmadi faith who in any way poses as a Muslim or refers to himself as a Muslim. Although the Ahmadiyya movement is a sect of Islam, it is a minority one which is not recognized as Islamic by many other Muslim groups in Pakistan because of some doctrinal differences. [Karen Parker, Human Rights Advocates, Inc. Human Rights in Pakistan, San Francisco: Human Rights Advocates, Inc. 1987, p. 16.] At least 12 Ahmadis were reportedly murdered for their religious beliefs between 1983 and 1985 and, according to External Affairs, Ahmadi property and Mosques were defaced or destroyed in April 1989. [External Affairs communique of 10 August 1989 discusses the ransacking and burning of Ahmadi homes on 12 April; Karen Parker, pp. 28-30.] Further allegations claim that Ahmadis are discriminated against in employment, and many rights and freedoms (e.g. of association, assembly, and speech) are reduced or denied. Ordinance XX is still in effect in Pakistan under the government of Benazir Bhutto. [External Affairs Canada, 10 August 1989.] A two-thirds majority is needed to make a constitutional amendment, and Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party does not have the majority necessary to carry through legislation. [Faride Shaheed and K. Mumtaz, "Veil of Tears", Far Eastern Economic Review, 28 September 1989, p. 129.] In addition, as Antonio Gualtieri, the author of Conscience and Coercion: Ahmadi Muslims and Orthodoxy in Pakistan (1989) observed, it is very difficult for Prime Minister Bhutto to reverse a policy instituted by her late father.

Prime Minister Bhutto's hold on her government is a tenuous one. Although she recently won a vote of confidence in the Pakistan National Assembly, the margin was not large, and to prevent the possible collapse of her government, she must tread softly around issues (such as Ordinance XX and the treatment of Ahmadis) which are controversial to either the military or the Islamic fundamentalists.

A communiqué from External Affairs discusses the criticism of the Pakistan government (by the non-governmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan) in its failure to safeguard the rights of Ahmadi Muslims under the existing constraints of Ordinance XX. [External Affairs Canada, 10 August 1989.] Many of the violent actions against the Ahmadi community in Pakistan (burning of property, etc.) have continued under the Bhutto regime. [Antonio Gualtieri, various reports by the Ahmaddiya Movement.] Houses were burned and riots against Ahmadis ensued during April 1989 in Nankana Sahib, and on 16 July, looting, arson and murders were carried out in Chak Sikandar. [Anthony Hyman, "No Great Change in Human Rights: Persecution of the Ahmadi Community has Increased During Bhutto's Government", Index on Censorship, November - December 1989, p. 26.] More recent information on the treatment of Ahmadis is not available to the IRBDC at this time. The information from External Affairs Canada asserts that, "Although there are problems, the law of Pakistan does not condone mob sectarian violence against Ahmadis. The issue is the ability or inability of the government to guarantee the Ahmadis their civil and religious rights and safety." [External Affairs Canada, 10 August 1989.]