Ahmadi Doctor gunned down in Karachi

Assistant Professor of Science at Karachi’s Dow University, Dr Najam al-Hasan, is brutally murdered in a religiously motivated attack. We call on the government to act swiftly. Saleem ud Din.

It is my sad duty to report that a well-known Ahmadi, Dr Najam al-Hasan, was murdered in a religiously motivated attack last night in Karachi, at approximately 12:15am, while closing his clinic for the day. He was shot dead just as he entered his car by a group of assailants, who as of yet, remain unidentified. Upon hearing the noise of gunfire, his brother, whose medical store is adjacent to the clinic, rushed to the scene only to discover that the victim had already succumbed to his injuries. Dr Najam al-Hasan was a peaceful and law abiding citizen and a much renowned paediatrician. He was also a serving assistant professor at Dow University of Health Sciences. Dr Najam al-Hasan was 39 at the time of his death and is survived by his wife, and three young children.

Since the promulgation of the anti-Ahmadiyya specific Ordinance XX in 1984, 20 Ahmadi Doctors have been killed in sectarian attacks, 10 of whom were murdered in Sindh. Dr Najam al-Hasan becomes the second Ahmadi to be killed in Karachi this year because of his religion. Such violence results from the continuing hatred that is spread throughout Pakistan against Jama’at Ahmadiyya. We cannot condone this enough. I call on the government to dispense swift justice against the perpetrators of this crime. Violent assaults against Ahmadis that are carried out in the name of religion are all too often premeditated and well organized. These attacks serve only to blemish the name of Islam and spread discord and strife amongst the general population. It is most unfortunate that all possible means of mass communication are being used in order to incite the sentiments of people against Ahmadis and inflame the already raging fire of sectarianism in the country.