Persecution of Religious Minorities: Pakistan

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Thursday 11th February 2016 Westminster Hall

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (SNP)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I offer my sincere appreciation to the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh) for securing this important debate. In welcoming the debate, I must also highlight the welcome that I received from the Ahmadi community; I felt truly humbled at their hospitable and genial reception. In stark contrast, the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims in some other countries is reprehensible.

In Pakistan, the Ahmadi population are not simply treated with disdain; they are systematically subjected to discrimination that is deeply ingrained in Pakistan’s laws and culture. When a Pakistani Muslim applies for a passport or other identification, they are asked to sign an oath denouncing the Ahmadi faith. In 2010 Mohammed Hanif, a BBC journalist, reported on that injustice:

“Like millions of other Pakistanis, I have signed this oath several times without giving much thought to exactly what Mr Ahmad stands for…I want my passport, and if I have to sign up to a fatwa to get it, so be it.”

The policy also leads to the disfranchisement of the Ahmadi population. There is an entirely separate electoral register for Ahmadis, and if they wish to vote they must deny their beliefs. Our own history has taught us that the principle of universal adult suffrage is an ideal to be upheld. In Pakistan Ahmadis are subjugated and treated unequally, just as women were in the UK in the past century. We must take care not to impose our values on others, but we cannot stand idly by and watch others denied their right to vote, as set out in article 21 of the universal declaration of human rights.

Although Pakistan has made strides towards ensuring parity of esteem for other religions and denominations, the Ahmadis continue to be singled out and marginalised. They are also endangered by such policies. The separate electoral register not only stigmatises but identifies them. Many Ahmadis have been murdered for their beliefs, so government policies that jeopardise their security are tantamount to the authorities being complicit in those barbarous acts.

To put the situation into perspective, about 250 Ahmadis have been murdered since 1984, yet not a single perpetrator has been prosecuted. What are we doing to address that situation with the Pakistani authorities? What, too, are we doing to address the other persecutions to which Ahmadis are subjected? In Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims can spend up to three years in prison simply for calling their place of worship a mosque. If their alleged offence is considered blasphemy, they can even face the death penalty.

The law is truly designed to suppress beliefs and to designate Ahmadis as non-Muslims. That flies in the face of Pakistan’s obligations as a signatory state of the international covenant on civil and political rights. It committed to freedom of religion for all, but places incomprehensible restrictions on Ahmadis. An example of such repression is that of the publisher of the Ahmadiyya Ansarullah magazine, who was arrested on the false allegation of producing blasphemous material. Tahir was refused bail and has now been imprisoned without charge for the past 10 months.

The shock that we might feel about such cases could be attributed to cultural difference, but it is important to point out that such laws appear to contravene even the constitution of Pakistan, which includes an article that affords the “Freedom to profess religion and to manage religious institutions” to citizens. Yet that freedom continues to be denied. There have been reports of graves being desecrated and burial rights being denied. There have been horrendous massacres at two mosques in Lahore leaving 86 dead. There are reports of arson and other attacks by people riled up by extremist rallies. Ahmadis are denied the right to peaceful assembly, but such hate rallies unfortunately do not seem to be subject to the same restrictions.

We cannot stand by and allow that to go on. As the Minister knows, I am a fierce advocate of global human rights, and I wish to see a firm stance taken by the UK Government. The Ahmadi community in the UK makes an enormous contribution to our society. We owe it not only to them but to ourselves to make an effort to right those wrongs.

In summary, will the Minister inform us in his response whether the UK Government have raised the issue of the voting rights of Ahmadi Muslims with the Pakistani authorities? If not, will he undertake to do so and to promote the principles of universal suffrage against discriminatory policies? Will he call on Pakistan to uphold its obligations as a signatory state of the international covenant on civil and political rights, in particular that on freedom of religion for all?

Finally, what assessment have the Government made of the extent of the persecution in Pakistan? How have the UK Government pushed the Pakistani authorities on the matter of religious persecution? How will the Government use their influence to push the Pakistani authorities further? Will the Government call for an end to the destruction of Ahmadi minarets? Furthermore, will the UK Government push the Pakistani Government to provide protection once and for all to the Ahmadi community, whose banner reads:

“Love for all, hatred for none”?