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Misbah Ahmad

I have my sympathies with Ahmadis: Pervez Musharraf

Former Pakistani President General (Retired) Pervez Musharraf has said that his sympathies are with Pakistan’s persecuted Ahmadiyya Muslim community. He made the remarks while speaking at the Churchill Center in Washington D.C on Wednesday. While answering a question from a Rabwah Times reporter about the country’s anti-Ahmadiyya laws, Musharraf said: This is a very sensitive question that you are asking really, personally, I believe in tolerance, I believe in moderation, I believe religion should be between him and his god …

Israel appoints its first female Muslim diplomat

Rasha Atamny has become the first Muslim woman to be appointed as an Israeli Diplomat. According to The Times of Israel, The Israeli Foreign Ministry appointed Rasha Atamny to represent the Jewish state in Ankara, Turkey, making her Israel’s first female Muslim diplomat. 31-year-old Atamny is currently completing the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s cadet course, and will serve as the first secretary in the Israeli Embassy in Ankara. “I believe in peace because I believe that people can make a positive difference …

Pakistan denies “state-sponsored persecution” of Ahmadis

Pakistani Ambassador to U.S. vehemently denied the “state sponsored” persecution of minority Ahmadiyya Muslims on Wednesday. Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry made the claims while speaking at an event in Washington .D.C. During the event at the U.S. Institute of Peace Ambassador Chaudhry was questioned by Rabwah Times reporter over Pakistan’s persecution of minority Ahmadiyya Muslims. The journalist pointed out Pakistan’s anti-Ahmadiyya laws which are used to prosecute Muslims for the simple crime of using the universal Islamic greeting of ‘Assalam-o-alaikum’. Responding …

Ahmadi child detained and harassed by Pakistan Police

Residents of Pakistani town of Chenab Nagar have asked the Government to open an investigation after a local police officer harassed and detained a young Ahmadi child. Children of local Ahmadiyya Youth Association were holding banners to raise public awareness about traffic rules and road safety when officer Asif charged towards the group standing on the roadside and tore off an unnamed boy’s placard, the officer then pulled the boy away and locked him up in his patrol car. Witnesses …

Pakistani TV Host Aamir Liaquat apologizes for hate speech

One of Pakistan’s most popular television talk show host has apologized for hate speech and “incitement to violence” comments which he made on his TV show back in 2008. During a live interview with Britain-based TV channel Liaquat also pleaded the UK Government to lift the travel ban against him. In Liaquat’s 2008 program followers of the minority Ahmadiyya sect of Islam were declared “worthy of murder” and within 24 hours of the program being aired, a prominent member of …

Pakistan to offer extra college credits to girls who cover their faces

Pakistan’s Minister for Higher Education has announced that girls who cover their faces will be given extra college credits. Minister Syed Raza Ali Gilani made the remarks while speaking at an Education Board meeting on Tuesday. Speaking at the event, Minister Gilani said: We are leaving our religion behind, we are forgetting our culture and ethics. Hence, I have made the hijab compulsory for our women and sisters in colleges The minister added that it was his duty to take …

Man wanted for Terrorism in Pakistan finds refuge in Canada

A Pakistani-Canadian man wanted for leading a mob attack on a Mosque in Pakistan has found refuge in Canada. In December 2016, Rasheed Ahmed, a dual citizen of Pakistan and Canada led a 3000-strong mob which attacked a historic Mosque in the town of Dulmial, northern Pakistan. The Mosque which dates back to 1860 has been at the center of a property dispute between Ahmadis and Sunnis. In 1996 the local Sunnis claimed ownership of the Mosque, a claim which …

US Mosque hosts celebration in honor of Pakistani killer

A U.S. Mosque on Sunday celebrated the death anniversary of a Pakistani man who shot and killed a sitting Governor for criticizing the country’s Blasphemy Laws. Mumtaz Qadri, who was the Governor’s bodyguard, assassinated liberal Pakistani politician and Governor of Punjab province Salman Taseer in 2011 for speaking out against Pakistan’s controversial Blasphemy laws and expressing solidarity with a Christian woman who had been accused of blasphemy. After Qadri was charged with murder by an anti-terrorism court and hanged in …

Bilawal Bhutto hints at abolishing Pakistan’s anti-Ahmadiyya Laws

Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari dropped hints that he will work towards abolishing Pakistan’s controversial laws against Ahmadi Muslims. The 28-year-old politician admitted that Pakistan had a lot to answer for the way how minorities were being treated in the country. Responding to a question about the role of Pakistan People’s Party in introducing the legislation against Ahmadis in 1974, Bilawal said: We can go into the past and keep talking about what people have done at …

US ‘very concerned’ over Pakistan’s crackdown on Ahmadis

The U.S. Government criticized Pakistan on Friday for raiding the International Headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim minority in Chenab Nagar (Rabwah). Speaking at a press briefing, U.S. State Department’s Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner commented: “We are obviously very concerned about these reports [that] the Punjab counter-terrorism police have raided the international headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Rabwah and arrested 4 individuals for publishing literature.” Responding to a question about Pakistan’s attack on Ahmadi Muslims and other minorities earlier …

Israelis and Palestinians come together to fight wildfires

The Palestinian Authority sent eight fire trucks and 41 firefighters after massive wildfires tore through central and northern Israel. Police detained 13 people on suspicion of arson. The Wildfires which lasted four days forced 60,000 people to evacuate and affected Israel’s third-largest city of Haifa. The Palestinian crews joined the firefighting efforts on near Haifa and on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Additional firefighters from Ramallah arrived on Saturday morning to help with fires at the West Bank settlement of Halamish. …

Pakistan bans Christian TV channels

Pakistan has ordered a shutdown of all Christian channels airing in the country and has arrested at least six cable operators for defying the order. Local priests have called the ban a blow to religious freedom in the country. The ban has affected 11 Christian TV channels including Pakistan’s oldest Christian satellite broadcaster, Isaac TV, as well as Indian Christian channels. The blocked channels include Gawahi TV, God Bless TV, Barkat TV, Praise TV, Zindagi TV, Shine TV, Jesus TV …