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News

Saudi Islamic affairs minister meets Lord Tariq Ahmad

The Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Asheikh on Wednesday received the British Prime Minister’s Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, they discussed issues of mutual interest. Minister Al-Sheikh explained that the Kingdom is actively working to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence between people of all faiths. Minister Abdullah said the Kingdom follows Islamic principals of moderation and rejects extremism. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon who is an …

British Police officers to train Punjab Police in latest investigation techniques

Three of Britain’s top cops are to train Pakistan’s Punjab Police in latest investigation methods. The Pakistan-origin officers met Governor Punjab Mohammad Sarwar in August and briefed him about the training program. The group included Senior Chief Inspector Zahid Khan, Superintendent Shabnam Chowdhury and Deputy Chief Naveed Malik. Malik joined the UK police in 1989 and has received nine Chief Constables’ commendations. Speaking on the occasion, Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said that Pakistanis abroad are our proud and valuable …

Indian Muslim politician tells Pakistanis to save Ahmadis first

Since August 5th, when the Indian government revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), tensions among Indians and Pakistanis have spilled over to Twitter. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has since accused the Indian government of “ethnic cleansing” of the Muslim-majority region. Khan claimed that revocation of Article 370 was an attempt to “change demography of Kashmir”. However Indian Muslim politicians have been quick to shut down the religious approach being applied to the conflict. Salman Nizami, a …

Facebook removes profile frame targeting Ahmadis

Facebook said on Wednesday that it has removed a profile frame targeting Pakistan’s long-persecuted Ahmadi community as the media giant continues to grapple with the proliferation of hate speech on the social network. Profile frames are filters Facebook users can add to their pictures that often promote a cause, celebrate a holiday, or commemorate an event or tragedy. The frame withdrawn by Facebook called for the death of the Ahmadis in Urdu and was widely shared in Pakistan. “We have …

U.S. President Trump meets freed Pakistani Ahmadi

U.S. President Trump on Wednesday met with a Pakistani Ahmadi man who spent three years in prison for his Ahmadiyya beliefs. Pakistanis Abdul Shukoor and Shaan Taseer were two of the 27 participants in the Oval Office meeting with President Trump. During the brief interaction 83 year old Abdul Shukoor prayed for President Trump and said: “I pray that may Allah reward you, protect you and give you a long life” “I can call myself a Muslim in the United …

Opinion: Islamist Identity Troubles

When officials at the Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC) told prominent imam Khaled Abou El Fadl that his invitation to give the Friday sermon at the mosque had been rescinded, he was furious. Before a small group of his own supporters at the Usuli Institute, he launched an hour-long attack on ICSC officials, at times screaming with rage and repeatedly stabbing his walking stick into the ground. He condemned the ICSC as “mute devils,” “idiots” and “authoritarians.” What exactly …

Teenagers burn down security cabin of Ahmadi Mosque in Wah Cantt

Pakistan Police on saturday arrested four teenagers and charged them with burning down of a security cabin of an Ahmadi Mosque. According to police, those four arrested teenagers who were returning home after playing in cricket burned down the security cabin outside the Ahmadi Mosque located near sector 14 Wah Cantonment. The teenagers who were later identified as Sabihuddin, Hafiz Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Sheharyar and Atta Mohammad fled the scene. The four teenagers who are aged between 14 and 18 …

Pakistan becoming increasingly hostile towards Ahmadis, report says

Pakistan’s Ahmadiyya community has accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of stirring religious hatred against them. In a report issued on Monday, the Ahmadiyya community alleged that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had fanned “the flames of religious hatred against Ahmadis”. Khan, in the lead-up to the July election that brought him to power, backed anti-blasphemy laws that included the death penalty as well as a discriminatory oath which specifically targeted the Ahmadi Muslims. Saleem-ud-Din, the spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim …

Sri Lanka to remove Pakistani refugees from the country

Sri Lankan President on Tuesday sought international assistance to remove Afghan and Pakistani refugees from the country. Speaking to diplomats in Colombo, the President Sirisena said there are over 1600 refugees in Sri Lanka from other countries and that with the current situation in the country he is unable to ensure their security. “There have been here for several years. The UN has taken care of their security. They have also taken care of their needs and informed us about …

Ahmadi refugees from Pakistan fear backlash in Sri Lanka after Easter attack

After fleeing their homes in Pakistan over militant attacks and government persecution, hundreds of Ahmadi Muslims felt they finally found peace in Sri Lanka as they sought resettlement across the world. Then came the Easter bombings that killed about 250 people, many Christians praying at church, and suddenly they were targeted again. Now Hundreds of Pakistani Ahmadi refugees in western Sri Lanka have taken refuge in mosques and a police station after facing intimidation following the deadly Easter bombings. Tension …

US authorities seek extradition of mother who killed husband and fled to Pakistan

American authorities are trying to have a woman extradited from Pakistan to stand trial in her husband’s 2002 murder. On a May night in 2002, Beverly McCallum loaded her dead husband’s body into her van along with her two young daughters, police said. Caraballo’s badly burned body was found on May 8, 2002 in a metal footlocker. He remained unidentified until 2015, when an anonymous caller provided a tip that cracked the case open again. Eaton County Sheriff’s Department Detective …

Pakistani who brought Urdu to the iPhone

The first generation iPhone was released in 2007 and since then Pakistani users have had a hard time reading Urdu on Apple devices. The main reason being the use of the not so popular Naskh style to display Urdu text. However, all this changed in 2017 when Apple integrated the Nastaliq font in all its iPhone devices. The man credited with Apple’s move is 40-year-old user interface designer Mudassir Azeemi. For four years Azeemi ran a campaign for the integration …