Asia

Pakistan arrests two ‘non-Muslim’ men for marrying Muslim women

A Pakistan Highcourt judge on Monday denied bail to two Ahmadi brothers accused of marrying Muslim women. Justice Syed Arshad Ali rejected the bail applications of Zaid, Zahid, and their father Sajid, accused of marrying Muslim women while being non-Muslim. The brothers who adhere to the minority Ahmadiyya faith were detained with their father in September last year. According to First Information Report filed with the police, brothers Zaid and Zahid from Sheikh Muhammadi area of Peshawar had married Sobia …

Minority Ahmadi man killed in Pakistan

A Gunman shot and killed a 65-year-old Ahmadi man in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar on Thursday. On February 2nd, at around 2PM, a lone gunman opened fire at a doctor’s clinic in Bazid Khel area of Peshawar and ended up killing Abdul Qadir, who was employed at the clinic. Qadir who belonged to the minority Ahmadiyya sect of Islam had recently relocated his family from Peshawar to a different city, citing threats to Ahmadis in Peshawar. However Qadir himself …

Christian Nurse charged with Blasphemy after mob surrounds Police station

A 30-year-old Christian woman, known for singing Gospel hymns in Urdu, has been charged with blasphemy after a mob surrounded the Police station. On January 28, Tabitha Nazir Gill was beaten up by staff at Sobhraj Maternity Hospital in Karachi where she had been working as a nurse for the past nine years. According to International Christian Concern, the head nurse at Sobhraj Maternity Hospital issued orders that medical staff may not receive tips or deal with money from patients. …

U.N. urges Pakistan to include Ahmadis in National Commission for Minorities

The U.N. High Commissioner for human rights has called on the Pakistan government to include the minority Ahmadi Muslims in the National Commission for Minorities. The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the country’s recently established National Commission for Minorities did not to meet the standards set out for national human rights institutions. The U.N. experts recommended Pakistan undertake a serious review of the current structure and membership of the commission and establish clear procedures for …

Pakistan orders Google & Wikipedia to remove ‘blasphemous content’ by Ahmadis

Pakistan has ordered tech giant Google and the world’s largest wiki portal Wikipedia to remove ‘blasphemous content’ by the minority Ahmadiyya community, which the Islamic republic deems as a heretic sect. In a statement, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said Friday that it took the step after receiving complaints against misleading search results associated with “Present Khalifa of Islam” and an unauthentic version of the Holy Quran which had been uploaded on Google’s Play Store by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The …

U.S. Lawmakers concerned over increase in violence against Ahmadis in Pakistan

U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern over the increase in violence against Ahmadis in Pakistan. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the lawmakers criticized Pakistan’s colonial-era blasphemy laws and urged the State Department to ensure that justice is served in the killing of Tahir Naseem, an Ahmadi Muslim who was shot dead in July. The letter stated: “We are concerned by a recent increase in violence against members of the Ahmadi community in Pakistan, and the silence …

Pakistani PM Imran Khan’s advisor may have secretly visited Israel

An advisor to the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Israel in the last week of November, according to reports published by Israel Hayom and several other Israeli media outlets. The source who is close to the Israeli government said that on the morning of November 20 at 8 a.m., British Airways Flight 165 from London landed at Ben Gurion Airport and on the plane was a senior adviser to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who flew in business class …

Ahmadi man critically wounded in Peshawar shooting

Gunmen opened fire on an Ahmadi man in Peshawar on Sunday, critically wounding him, police said. 62-year-old Gulzar Ahmad was attacked at his store located in the Qissa Khawani market of Peshawar. He managed to escape with four bullet wounds to his leg and one to his hand. Ahmad was rushed to a local hospital for treatment, Police said. Sunday’s attack is the third attack on Ahmadis in Peshawar in less than three months. On July 29th an American-Ahmadi Tahir …

Group of women arrested in connection with thefts across Rabwah

A Local neighborhood watch group on Wednesday nabbed a group of women responsible for thefts across the town of Rabwah. According to sources, the women were detained early in the morning after locals identified them from CCTV footage of previous incidents. The group targeted elderly women living by themselves and broke into homes by distracting the occupants. The women were later handed over to the local police.

Pakistan police rescue Ahmadi family from mob attack, charge teenage son with blasphemy

Pakistan Police on Thursday filed charges against an Ahmadi teenager after rescuing him and his family from a mob of religious extremists. The incident took place in the Phandu area of Peshawar where a mob of religious fanatics surrounded the Ahmadi family’s house in the early hours of Thursday. According to local media, the incident started in the Hasht Nagar where a few local teenagers provoked a confrontation by putting up anti-Ahmadi posters and chanting religious slogans. When the Ahmadi …

Pakistani Christian sentenced to death for blasphemy

A Pakistani court sentenced a Christian man to death after finding him guilty of blasphemy for insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in text messages he sent to a Muslim co-worker in 2013, a defense lawyer said Thursday. Saiful Malook said his client, 37-year-old Asif Pervaiz, was convicted and sentenced this week in the eastern city of Lahore. It was the latest example of the Islamic nation’s strict upholding of blasphemy laws. Malook said the court rejected Pervaiz’s denial of the charges …

Pakistan Police charge toddler for holding an ‘illegal gathering’

Pakistan’s police on Sunday charged a toddler and five others for holding an “illegal gathering” and “promoting sectarianism.” According to the charge sheet, 4-year-old Fazal Abbas and two others hosted an illegal Majlis (gathering) on the night of August 30th at the Aiwan e Hussain Imam Bargah in the village of Purana Ghanian. The village is located in the Kamoke municipality of the Gujranwala district. The charge sheet also accused the three organizers and six attendees for promoting sectarianism by hosting and …