By Qasim Nauman
ISLAMABAD--A mob in central Pakistan killed three members of the
minority Ahmadiyya religious community on Sunday, after an Ahmadi
man allegedly posted a blasphemous image on Facebook, officials
said.
The attack occurred in the city of Gujranwala, in Punjab
province, where a posting by a 22-year-old Ahmadi man sparked an
argument with neighbors belonging to the majority Sunni branch of
Islam. Several hundred people then gathered at the scene and set
fire to houses belonging to Ahmadi families, police said.
"They went to the Ahmadi man's house and there was an argument
that got out of hand," said a police official who arrived at the
scene. "Before we could do anything about it, over a hundred people
arrived, many from the local mosque because it was prayer
time."
Saleem Uddin, a spokesman for the Ahmadiyya community in
Pakistan, said the allegation of blasphemy was "completely
false."
The dead include a 55-year-old woman and her two granddaughters,
one aged seven and the other eight months, police and
emergency-service officials said on Monday. A pregnant Ahmadi woman
lost her baby during the attack, according to Mr. Uddin. At least
six people were taken to a local hospital for treatment. The
victims were trapped inside their houses, which were set on fire by
the mob.
Members of the Ahmadiyya community consider themselves Muslims,
but are termed heretics by most mainstream sects of Islam. Pakistan
declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974 through a constitutional
amendment. Laws relating to religious freedom were further
tightened in the 1980s to prohibit Ahmadis from proselytizing or
even calling themselves Muslims.
The community has faced frequent harassment, discrimination and
violence since then. A Pakistani-American Ahmadi doctor was shot
dead in May, and earlier this year, a vigilante killed an Ahmadi
man who was in police custody. At least 80 Ahmadis were killed in
2010 when militants attacked two of the community mosques in the
central Pakistani city of Lahore. Seven Ahmadis were killed in 2013
because of their religious beliefs, according to the Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan.
Ahmadis have faced prosecution under Pakistan's blasphemy laws
as well, which carry the death penalty for insulting the Prophet
Muhammad. Pakistan hasn't executed anyone convicted of blasphemy,
but the mere accusation of it often results in mob attacks and
lynchings. Human-rights activists in Pakistan say the laws are
often used to persecute minorities, sometimes to settle personal or
financial issues. There are 17 Pakistanis on death row for
blasphemy, according to the 2014 Annual Report by the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Police in Gujranwala said no arrests have been made so far. "We
controlled the situation, dispersed the crowd and put out the fire
as quickly as we could. We have started an investigation," said
police official Malik Asghar.
Mr. Uddin, the Ahmadiyya community representative, accused the
authorities of not doing enough to protect Ahmadis from the
mob.
"These people were burning down houses. There were women and
children inside, and the police just stood there, watching," Mr.
Uddin said. "The mob was looting those houses, throwing furniture
and household items out on the street."
Imran Khalid Butt, the local representative in the Punjab
provincial assembly, said people in the mob also attacked nearby
businesses owned by Ahmadis. "When there is a situation like this,
there are always some troublemakers who try to take advantage of
the situation," said Mr. Butt, who is a member of the ruling
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz political party.
Gujranwala police officials denied that they didn't act. "This
was a mob of hundreds. We reacted as quickly as we could to prevent
any further damage," an official at the Gujranwala City Police
headquarters said.
Eight houses and four shops were burned in Sunday's attack,
according to Mr. Uddin. "It is impossible to comprehend the levels
of hatred and wickedness that could motivate anyone toward such
merciless brutality," he said, adding that the Ahmadiyya community
won't respond with violence.
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