On 7 September 1974, the long unfulfilled dream of Pakistan’s religious conservatives finally became a reality with the passing of the second constitutional amendment which declared Ahmadis non-Musim. For the man who spearheaded this movement, Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, it was a singular moment of glory and as he left parliament on the day of its enactment he was met by jubilant crowds who hailed him as a hero. A theological dispute sold to the people as a struggle …
Today in the village of Nizhny Arkhyz, Karachay-Cherkess Republic (KChR), a solemn ceremony of opening the joint Russian-Pakistani exercise “Friendship-2017” was held. More than 200 servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan took part in the event. The opening ceremony of the exercises began with the raising of state flags and the playing of the national anthems of Russia and Pakistan. Colonel Sergey Dmitriev, commander of the motorized rifle brigade of the …
When 14-year-old Geeti Ara moved to Malaysia from Pakistan as a refugee she dreamed of becoming a teacher. But Geeti’s dream was nearly impossible, as she and her parents belonged to the severely persecuted Ahmadiyya community. Now the 17-year-old Pakistani refugee is fulfilling her dreams by helping educate fellow refugees in Malaysia. Geeti started teaching at the Smart Iqra Education refugee school in 2014, while she was still 14. After her inspirational story came to light she was asked to …
On Wednesday the U.S. State Department designated Hizb-ul-Mujahideen as a Foreign Terrorist Organization as Pakistan celebrated the terror organization by placing a portrait of Hizb leader on a celebratory train. As part of Independence Day celebrations, Pakistan ran a special ‘Azadi’ train from Islamabad on August 12 which reached the central city of Lahore on August 16th. The ‘Azadi’ or Freedom train had floats and carriages showcasing culture and traditions of the different provinces of the country. The train also …
Somewhere in Islamabad from what I understand, a girl is preparing for her wedding. Maybe she is booking a hairdresser or shopping for new clothes and jewelry. Maybe she is visiting friends and family and receiving their blessings and well wishes. Maybe she is fantasizing about her new life as a new bride and the impending move to the United States. Maybe she wonders what kind of man this cousin of hers is that her relatives and relations have chosen …
As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Israel on Tuesday, He was greeted by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with representatives of various communities including the Ahmadiyya. The welcoming party at Tel Aviv airport was made up of various leaders from all over Israel, which included representatives of the Druze, Bahais and the Ahmadiyya. The President of the Israeli chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Muhammad Sharif Odeh greeted the Indian PM alongside Israeli PM Netanyahu and …
A Pakistan-origin British peer has been selected to serve as UK Foreign Office’s Minister of State. His new role was announced on June 13th, 2017 as Prime Minister Theresa May finished reshuffling the cabinet. Before his appointment as Minister of State, Lord Ahmad served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, while from 2015 to 2016 he served as Minister for Countering Extremism. .@tariqahmadbt appointed as Foreign Office Minister of State pic.twitter.com/SLboQl4yPU — Foreign Office ?? (@foreignoffice) June 13, 2017 …
A Pakistani court on Wednesday sentenced two men to three years in prison for “Excessive use of Quran” The two men, Idris Ahmed and SabaulZafar were charged with”excessive use of Quran and Islamic literature” along with illegal possession of the Islamic Holy book. Both men were given a three-year prison sentence and fined PKR 50,000 (USD 475) by the anti-terrorism court. The men who belong to the minority Ahmadiyya community were arrested by Pakistan’s security forces in December last year during …
U.S. Mosque-goers tried to forcibly stop a journalist from filming inside a Mosque after claiming it was sinful. Journalist Aziz Ahmed was at the Darul Huda Mosque in Springfield, Virginia to cover the beginning of Ramadhan when he was forcefully stopped by Mosque-goers from filming within the Mosque. Ahmed posted the video of the confrontation on his Facebook in which Mosque members can be seen telling Ahmed to stop filming. The video you made of people praying, you should delete …
A Pakistani-American lawyer has made a name for herself by taking down international terrorists in Court. Since 2009, 37-year-old Zainab Ahmad has worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in New York, and so far she has prosecuted 13 people for terrorism, without losing a single case. Zainab who grew up in suburban Long Island, New York says she had planned to be a hospital administrator, but things went sideways after the September 11th attacks, and she ended up at Columbia …
The European Union delegation celebrated its first Europe Day celebrations in Pakistan by arranging a mini ‘Euro Village’ in the capital city of Islamabad. The event was led by EU’s envoy to Pakistan Jean-Francois Cautain. The family friendly event was held on May 6th at the Lok Virsa Heritage Museum and highlighted the diverse cultures of the European Union Member States through food, musical performances, and art exhibits. It was organized to raise awareness about the different cultural traditions of …
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 …