On December 22 Mr Luqman Ahmad Shazad, an Ahmadi Muslim, was murdered in
Gujranwala, Pakistan simply on grounds of faith; he is the eleventh Ahmadi to
be killed in Pakistan this year.
Before the murder, there was a broadcast on GEO TV inciting hatred
against the Ahmadis and an anti-Ahmadi conference was held in Gujranwala
itself. Further details can be found on the Ahmadi site persecution website.
The broadcasting and circulation in the social media of hate speech
against Ahmadis, Shia and other minorities is all too common in Pakistan, and
is frequently the signal for religious violence. There are no laws prohibiting
incitement to religious or racial hatred. The GEO programmes are relayed to
the UK, including hate speech by the presenter Amir Liaquat
Hussain or the extremist clerics Maulvi Humza Ali Qadri and Mufti Arif Shah Owaisi. GEO broadcasts
that are reyed to the UK should be monitored by the police to pick up those
that break the law, and action should be taken accordingly.
This latest murder is further evidence of the fact that Pakistan's
Blasphemy laws and anti-Ahmadiyya laws continue to be used by extremists as a
pre-text for brutal violence against Ahmadi Muslims and other religious
communities in Pakistan.
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