Pakistan’s Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan has denied that he made anti-Ahmadi statements at an Islamic conference.
Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari who currently serves as PM’s special envoy for overseas Pakistanis has denied claims that he made anti-Ahmadi remarks at a ‘Khatm e Nabuwat‘ conference held on January 6th in Golra Sharif. An article published by Pakistan Christian Post on March 20th had claimed that Bukhari while speaking at the conference said: “There is no place for the Qadianis in Pakistan“.
Bukhari vehemently denied the claims made by the publication. In a tweet posted on March 26th, he said:
The reported article is absolutely fake & purely based on propaganda.I have never said any such thing & will never do-Pakistan belongs to ALL Pakistanis.The reporting is shameful to say the least, my legal team shall be taking it up with the publication.
Bukhari’s denial came amid increasing criticism from the already persecuted Ahmadi community.
A fact-check conducted by Rabwah Times found no evidence of that specific remark by Bukhari. However, the PM’s special envoy did imply that Ahmadis were not Humans. Bukhari said:
“Anyone who does not believe in it [Khatme Nabuwat] is not a Muslim and anyone who works against it [Khatme Nabuwat] is not a Human”
‘Khatm e Nubuwwat’ is an Islamic concept which translates to “Finality of the Prophethood”. Mainstream Muslims believe that Ahmadis deny this concept and are thus not Muslims. Some Muslim clerics have gone even further and declared the Ahmadis ‘Wajib ul Qatal‘ [Worthy of Death].