By Muhammad Saad Saleh

A few days ago, Safdar Awan had the temerity to use the highest platform for legislation to spew venom on the already persecuted Ahmadi community. He not only denounced their faith but also questioned their loyalty to the state. He didn’t just stop there but went on to tweet about his speech, as if he has glorified his religion by proposing a ban on the recruitment of Ahmadis in major social institutions. The irony is that the loyalty of a whole community is being questioned by someone whose own loyalty to the state is dubious. He also seemed to have some personal grudges with Dr. Abdus Salam as he was repulsive to the idea of naming a building after him.

His speech was symptomatic of the attitude an average Pakistani has towards the Ahmadi community. Ahmadis have long been persecuted in Pakistan and this nasty rhetoric is nothing new. They have been declared non-Muslims and I can’t fathom why we can’t even treat them as a human let alone treating them as a minority. Our dilemma is that there’s no sense of urgency to help those who we can, but our desire to help those who we practically cannot is very strong. We are unjust people, we can cry rivers for the persecution of Muslims in Myanmar and Palestine but whenever it comes to the persecution of minority members in Pakistan we turn a blind eye.

In 2014, three innocent members of the same Ahmadi family including two minors, a seven-year old Hira and an eight-month old Kainat, died of suffocation when an angry mob torched their house over alleged blasphemy in Gujranwala. The incident took place in the stronghold of PML – N and that too under their government. Where were the Mullahs with their mass protests and processions against that atrocity? Those hypocrites whose tongues never cease to incite hatred among our ranks just went mute over that incident. Where was Safdar Awan at that time? He didn’t even have the balls to condemn that act of violence because the girls who died were someone else’s daughter and that someone happened to be an Ahmadi. My question is: Are we so blinded by our hatred towards Ahmadis that we can’t even leave minors out of it?

Ahmadi community has contributed significantly towards the prosperity of Pakistan. There had been eminent Ahmadis whose sole contribution to the state was paramount. One such eminent figure was Dr. Abdus Salam. He was the first ever Pakistani to receive the coveted Nobel Prize in science. He was the founding father of Pakistan’s nuclear program. He initiated Space and Upper Research Commission (SUPARCO). He established the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH). He worked as a science advisor for the Government of Pakistan and also served on a number of UN committees on science. He diligently worked all his life to serve his nation and what did we do for him? We disowned our very own Abdus Salam and forced him to leave his country only because of his faith. While Salam was in exile, a Pakistani visitor went to ICTP to meet him. He told Salam that he was a student from Pakistan and was very proud of him. On hearing this Salam burst into tears. He had great affinity for his motherland and all he wanted was recognition from his own people. The world was not blind to his contributions and conferred upon him UNESCO’s Einstein Award, the Czech Peace Medal, Royal Medal, Maxwell Prize and Cambridge’s Hopkins & Adams prizes. Even a road in Switzerland was named after him and his bust was recently unveiled in International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. Yet we are repulsive to the idea of naming the building of a physics department after the connoisseur in Physics. Such irony!

The story doesn’t stop here: our history is replete with Ahmadis who put their heart and soul in the welfare of Pakistan. Another notable Ahmadi figure was Sir Zafrullah Khan. He was a seasoned diplomat and was hand-picked by Mr. Jinnah to serve as the first foreign minister of Pakistan. He held highest international judicial and diplomatic positions like the president of International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the president of UN General Assembly. He represented and defended Pakistan’s interest before the world. In the annals of military history Ahmadis made great contributions. Major General Iftikhar Khan Janjua led his troops from the front at the Rann of Cutch sector during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. He was later heralded as the “Hero of Rann of Cutch”. He embraced martyrdom in Battle of Chhamb during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 and was the first and only Pakistani general to have embraced martyrdom in a combat. Lieutenant General Akhtar Hussain and Lieutenant General Abdul Ali led their troops from the front at Kashmir and Sialkot sectors respectively during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. Squadron Leader Khalifa Muniruddin was an ace fighter pilot of the PAF who embraced martyrdom during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965.

These sons of soil are true heroes of Pakistan and their contribution towards Pakistan is being erased by people like Safdar Awan. What has Safdar ever achieved for Pakistan? Corruption?

The likes of him use religion as a tool to divide us. They disparage minorities and give the notion that they have done nothing for Pakistan. But the fact is whenever the motherland called they were the first ones to respond, they nurtured the soil with their blood. Yet, Safdar Awan has the gall to question their loyalty. It’s not Ahmadis that should be barred from joining social institutions but likes of Safdar that should be banned from entering the parliament. It is time we own our heroes irrespective of their religion and say no to the persecution of one particular minority based on its beliefs. If we can’t do so then we shouldn’t forget that the wind belongs to no one. Don’t rejoice if their lamps are being extinguished today, because tomorrow it’s going to be your turn.

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