London, Sep 21 (IANS) A leading international human rights organisation expressed grave concern over the open display of hostile and discriminatory banners targeting the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community across Sargodha district in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
The rights group warned that such incidents could fuel further hostility against the already persecuted religious minority community.
Citing reports, the UK-based International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) said that several such banners were put up along Sargodha University Road, with some portraying Ahmadis as disloyal to Pakistan, demanding their removal from positions of responsibility and calling for their complete boycott. One prominently displayed banner carried the English words: “We hate Qadianiyat” ( a religious slur).
Video footage from Sargodha also showed anti-Ahmadi banners erected prominently along public roads.
“The banners are not merely expressions of theological disagreement. Calls for people to boycott an identifiable religious community, exclude its members from society and remove them from positions of responsibility contribute to an environment in which Ahmadis can face discrimination in their everyday lives. The fact that such material has reportedly been displayed openly along a major public road raises serious questions about the response of local and provincial authorities,” the IHRC stated.
Highlighting that such anti-Ahmadi calls are not without precedent in the Sargodha region, the rights body noted that previous documented incidents in the Silwanwali region of Sargodha district included anti-Ahmadi rallies, calls for members of the public to refrain from doing business with Ahmadis, and demands for their social boycott.
The IHRC cited Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights, which documented incidents of boycott campaigns against Ahmadis, including calls to deny them groceries and medical treatment, expel Ahmadi students and teachers, and terminate land leases. The Commission also documented interference with Ahmadi religious worship in Sargodha.
“These documented examples demonstrate the potentially serious consequences when campaigns of religious exclusion move beyond rhetoric and begin affecting education, employment, commerce, healthcare and religious life,” the IHRC stated.
The rights body referred to UN human-rights mechanisms that have repeatedly raised concerns over violence, harassment, hate speech and attacks against religious minorities, including Ahmadis across Pakistan.
“Whatever an individual’s religious beliefs may be, no citizen should face violence, intimidation, discrimination or exclusion because of their faith. The authorities have a responsibility to ensure that Ahmadis and all other religious communities are afforded effective protection and that credible allegations of unlawful incitement, threats or discrimination are properly investigated,” it stressed.
The IHRC urged the international community to scrutinise Pakistan’s implementation of its international human-rights commitments and ensure that the safety and fundamental rights of vulnerable religious communities remain part of bilateral and multilateral engagement.
“Hatred displayed openly in public spaces must not be allowed to develop into discrimination, intimidation or violence,” it added.
–IANS
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