Lahore; 5 June 2024: Amid the hype of violence against Ahmadis in Pakistan, the LHCBA urged high police officials in Punjab to act against Ahmadis gathering, observing and praying during their Eid ul Adha celebrations—one of the numerous festivals common among Ahmadi and Non-Ahmadi Muslims. This was most unbecoming of a major lawyers’ association.
We enclose a copy of their circular in Annex 1 Other than the denial of Qurbani (sacrificing animals) to Ahmadis, the LHCBA goes further and targets Ahmadis assembling (for Prayer) on this occasion. Its letter unabashedly mentions the probability of threat to the ‘peace of area’ and ‘loss of life and property’. It refers to Ahmadis as ‘qadiyani/mirzai infidels’. The President of the LHCBA has indulged in competition with the infamous Tehreek Labbaik (TLP) in badmouthing and indulging in hate speech against the peaceful Ahmadis. It does not behove this elite lawyers’ community of the Punjab to adopt the agenda of violent religious extremists.
Such actions of bar associations have been noticed by their foreign co-professionals. Dr. Aaron Rhodes, (an eminent European HR lawyer) said recently: “It is appalling that a Pakistani bar association should advocate not for freedom of religion according to international legal norms, but rather for persecution of a peaceful religious minority.”
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 18, everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
On July 13, 2021, UN human rights experts expressed their deep concern over the lack of attention to the serious human rights violations perpetrated against the Ahmadiyya community around the world and called on the international community to step up efforts in bringing an end to the ongoing persecution of Ahmadis.
It is presumptuous of LHCBA to say that the Eid festival, the Qurbani and the Eid Prayer are denied by Islam to those who are declared to be Non-Muslim by a state. The Pakistan law lays down a few specific practices forbidden to Ahmadis, like calling Azan and calling their mosque a Masjid. The rest accordingly are all lawful to Ahmadis. If the LHCBA does not agree with that, it has to uphold and go by the verdict of the Supreme Court of Pakistan which has recently pronounced that Ahmadis can practice their religion within their four walls.
LHCBA, without authority, has expanded arbitrarily the scope of Shaair-e-Islami. Last but not least, while commenting on the extremist threat in its editorial, the daily Dawn of June 6, 2024, sagaciously remarked that ‘terrorism and extremism are joined at the hip, and feed off each other’, and posed the question, “Do those who control the levers of state intend to confront the extremist elements that are fanning the flames of hatred in society?” We suggest that the administration, the judiciary and the lawyers’ community themselves should examine whether the present leadership of LHCBA, by echoing the demands of the violent extremists of TLP, subconsciously or unwittingly, promote the dreaded ‘Extremist threat’.
