The killer had not known the victim earlier
Rabwah (Chenab Nagar) August 12, 2022: Press Section of the Ahmadiyya central office issued the following press release (Translation):
An Ahmadi was brazenly stabbed to death in the open in Chenab Nagar (Rabwah) in religious hatred.
The killer shouted religious slogans; arrested at the site
Ahmadis no longer consider themselves safe as a result of unrestrained promotion of hate against them.
Chenab Nagar (PR). A religious rabid stabbed an Ahmadi to death today at about 08:00 at the bus stand. As per details, 60-year old Naseer Ahmad was at the bus stand when a religious extremist Shehzad Hasan told him to raise slogans: Labbaik Ya Rasulullah; Khadim Rizvi Zindah Baad. The killer shouted Mun Subba Nabiyyan Faqtuluh and attacked Mr Naseer Ahmad with a knife. The victim died on account of repeated stabs. The killer was arrested on the spot.
As per initial information, the murderer is Hafiz Muhammad Shehzad Hasan Sinjalwi, resident of a village near Sillanwali, District Sargodha.
He joined madrassah Anwar ul Quran in area P.S. Muhammad Wala in year 2005 and graduated in 2010.
The victim Mr Naseer Ahmad was a resident of Darul Rahmat Sharqi, Rabwah. He was a thorough gentleman. He had no vendetta with anyone. He was killed solely for being an Ahmadi. He left behind a widow and three daughters.
Mr Saleemuddin, the Ahmadiyya Spokesman expressed deep sorrow and grief on this beastly murder and said, “Murder of an Ahmadi in broad daylight by a religious fanatic is extremely regrettable. Ahmadis are not safe in their city where they are 95% of the population. Ahmadis no longer consider themselves safe as a result of unrestrained promotion of hate against them. These promoters of hate are well known; why do the authorities not take action against them as per law? Violence in the name of religion can be stopped if these hate-mongers are disciplined. Those who promote religious rabidity and incite murder of innocent men should be restrained under law.”
It is learnt that the killer first asked the victim if he was an Ahmadi. On confirmation, he took out the dagger. The victim died before he could reach the hospital.
It is not out of place to ask the proprietors and supporters of such madrassahs to assess the kind and quality of output of their enterprises. Is this the Islam that the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.) brought and propagated? According to many, what the killer did was quite the opposite of the Quranic teaching and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.).
The vernacular print media look care not to give due space to the gory incident. For instance, a national Urdu newspaper spared the space of a postage stamp to print this news.
The same newspaper provided two-column space to the following statement of a mulla, that was hardly a news:
“Implementation of the 1973 Constitution is the need of the time: Zahid Qasmi”
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) tweeted the following at this occasion:
The Ahmadiyya community continues to be targeted with ferocious regularity. A man was stabbed and killed at a bus stop in Rabwah allegedly for not raising a religious slogan. In another incident in Sahiwal, an Ahmadi man was assaulted reportedly because the plaque outside his home commemorating his soldier father read shaheed. HRCP strongly condemns these incidents and demands not only that the perpetrators be held accountable, but also that the state roll back the right-wing religiosity that has gripped Pakistan – and is responsible for such violence – before it is too late.
A few days later, Mr Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the UN issued a tweet, very apt and timely from (@antonioguterres):
“Hate speech continues to full violence against vulnerable members of society, including ethnic & religious minorities.”
“It is essential that all countries, faith leaders and other unfluential figures condemn all incitement to hatred & violence based on religion or belief.”
Note: The UN SG is right, but so long as the world community continues to give precedence to national interests, and national leaders hold their vote banks closest to their hearts, the human rights and FoRB of marginalized communities will remain on back burners.
Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) mentioned in his Friday sermon on
19th August 2022:
”The deceased’s daughter, Mubaraka Sahiba says that a few days before his
martyrdom, he saw a dream that there was a large group of people that had
gathered and the atmosphere was one of grief. Upon seeing this he gave alms.
Since some time, he had been expressing that he felt his time was drawing near.
He is survived by his wife Parveen Akhtar Sahiba and three daughters. May Allah
the Almighty grant them all patience and steadfastness. His brother, Tanveer
Akhtar Sahib says, “Although he did not have much of secular education or
knowledge about the Jamaat, but he had great of pride for the Jamaat and love
for Khilafat since his childhood. He was a simple hearted and selfless person and
would be happy in seeing other people be happy. On occasions of Eid, when he
would come home from Lahore, he would bring home many things to eat and
drink and would have nice, new clothes made which he would only wear on Eid,
and because I am a life-devotee, he would give the clothes to me and would
take my old clothes.” His nephew says, “He would always keep his phone with
him because he thought that anyone from the Jamaat could need his help and if
he did not have his phone then they wouldn’t be able to contact him. Even if his
phone rang at night, he would immediately get up and get ready to serve the
Jamaat. Even if he had to go to the ends of Rabwah, he would do so. He would
always be ready to donate blood and in this way, he saved many lives. He never
cared for his own heart ailment. He felt it was his moral obligation to help those
in need, and he would always give precedence to them over his own illness.”
May Allah the Almighty elevate his station and grant him a lofty rank in Paradise.
May He be the Protector and Helper of his family and enable them to carry on his
virtues. “
(Friday Sermon 19 th August 2022)
