Pakistan

Thousands attend anti-Ahmadiyya ‘KhatmeNabuwat’ conference in Rabwah

The small town of Rabwah went into lockdown on Thursday as thousands made their way to attend the controversial ‘KhatmeNabuwat’ conference. More than 20,000 people are thought to be attending the two-day conference which began on October 27th. The event has been organized by the controversial AMTKN (Aalmi Majlis – e – Tahfuze KhatmeNabuwat) movement, an organization described as a hate group due to its continued encouragement of violence against Ahmadi Muslims. The arrangements for the event have been made …

‘Khalifa of Islam’ to visit Canada

The religious leader of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad is set to arrive in Canada on October 3rd as the community marks 50 years in Canada. This will be his 4th trip to Canada since being elected Caliph in 2003. On Monday thousands will gather at Ahmadiyya ave in Toronto to welcome the ‘Khalifa of Islam‘. The Caliph will be welcomed by Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, John McCallum. His Canadian tour will commence with …

PEMRA dismisses Ahmadis’ complaint against TV Channels after mob storms office

Pakistan’s Electronic Media Authority (PEMRA) has come under fire after two TV channels aired ‘hateful’ content against the minority Ahmadiyya community. Pakistan’s NEO TV and Channel-92 labeled Ahmadis as ‘Blasphemers’ and ‘Traitors’ in their TV show, Harf-e-Raz, and Subh-e-Noor which were aired in the first week of September. Following the airing of the programs representatives of Ahmadiyya community filed complaints against the two TV channels with PEMRA. The complaint filed by Ahmadiyya representatives stated that “The programs were provocative against …

White House invites Taliban sympathizer to speak at Interfaith Campus Challenge

The U.S. Department of Education and the White House invited a Taliban sympathizer to speak at PICSCC ( President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge). The PICSCC was introduced by President Obama in 2011 to build bridges of understanding across communities by bringing together people from different religious and non-religious backgrounds. This year, the two-day challenge was held at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. which saw speakers from dozens of countries and various organizations come together and discuss various issues …

Pakistan Police Arrest Christian Teenager for Facebook Post

A 16-year-old Pakistani Christian has been arrested for Blasphemy for liking a Facebook post. The teenager who is from Punjab has been jailed pending trial. On 18th September, 16-year-old Nabeel Chohan from Chak 66, Bhai Pheru, District of Kasur was arrested and charged under Pakistan’s infamous Blasphemy law. He was arrested by the Police after locals filed a complaint against Masih under Section 295/ 295A of Pakistan’s penal code. The complainant alleged that he was going through Masih’s Facebook account …

Ahmadis fearful of celebrating Eid in Rabwah

“The right to celebrate Eid and other Islamic traditions has been snatched away from us because they are associated to Islam and since we have been declared non-Muslim we can not celebrate” In 1974 Pakistan declared the Ahmadis a non-Muslim minority using a constitutional amendment. Since then they have been stopped from celebrating “Muslims Holy Festivals.” 60-year-old Ijaz Ahmad is a resident of Rabwah and works in a small company. He says like every year he likes to celebrate Eid …

Extremist group Khatm-e-Nabuwat hosts conference against Ahmadis in Rabwah

On September 7th, Extremist organization Khatm-e-Nabuwat held an anti-Ahmadiyya conference in Pakistan’s only majority Ahmadiyya town of Rabwah. The conference was organized to mark the 42nd anniversary of Pakistan declaring minority Ahmadiyya as non-Muslims. Conference speakers included Ministers and Islamic preachers. Local District Police Officer Mustansar Feroz also paid a visit to the conference site to make sure security arrangements were adequate. Speaking at the conference serving PML-N Minister and head of International KhatmeNabuwat Movement, Ilyas Chinioti said: “Qadianis are …

Pakistani Ministers target Ahmadis in Punjab Assembly

Decades of persecution and a full ban on the Ahmadiyya faith has not changed the Government’s attitudes toward Pakistan’s most persecuted faith group. Ministers in Pakistan’s Provincial Assembly of Punjab continue to make sure the Ahmadis are not given any rights or recognition. On August 31st, Minister for School Education, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan came under fire over the alleged transfer of government schools to the Ahmadiyya community and organizations associated with it. In a fiery speech, Ghiyas-ud-Din said that …

Thousands of Ahmadis fleeing persecution in Pakistan and seeking Asylum overseas

More and more Ahmadis are leaving Pakistan and seeking asylum overseas as persecution in Pakistan increases. Sources within Pakistan and stats released by the U.S. indicate that Ahmadis are the largest asylum seeking group from Pakistan.Newly published statistics by Germany, U.K., and the US revealed that over 10,000 Pakistanis had sought asylum in these three countries over the past year. Data from US Department of State which classified refugees by religion showed that most of the 376 Pakistanis who applied …

Germany’s largest Islamic convention underway in Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe, a German city close to the French border is hosting Germany’s largest annual Islamic convention this weekend. Over 35,000 Muslims are expected to attend the Jalsa Salana, the 41st annual convention of Germany’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Thousands of Muslims have traveled from all over Europe to hear the keynote speaker, The Khalifa of Islam, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad. Ahead of the convention, the Khalifa laid the foundation of two Mosques, One in the German town of Frankenthal and …

Suicide bombers target Christian Colony in Pakistan

Four suicide bombers with arms and ammunition attacked a Christian Colony in Pakistan’s Northwestern city of Peshawar. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway Taliban faction, claimed responsibility for the attack. The colony which houses around 30 Christian families was attacked early Friday morning. Local police official Shaukat Khan said four suicide bombers entered the Christian colony. One of them went into a church, but no one was there at the time. Police and security forces arrived at the scene after which an exchange …

What you need to know about Pakistan’s New Cyber-Crime Law

The notorious Cyber Crime bill passed by the National Assembly with only 9% of its 342 members is now a law. The bill which has been termed Draconian by almost every other Public media outlet has some extremely upsetting features that if allowed to be implemented will be nothing short of a calamity for the nation of Pakistan and its people. Particularly the younger, social media generation. The act which has been given the title of the ‘Prevention of Electronic …