The late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is thought to have started the whole process. I think almost everyone apart from die hard jayalas agree that ZAB was a great leader, but a flawed one. His 1974 amendment was an example of his political cunning which went horribly wrong. Ahmadis were declared non-muslims “for the sake of constitution”, but ZAB started which could never be stopped. Pakistani politicians in the past had suffered for standing up against religious bigotry. But ZAB chose the easier option out, and all religious leaders were appeased for a few years by the amendment. Kausar Niazi, another great political mind and ZAB’s associate knew too well the religious mind. He himself was involved in 1954 anti-ahmadiyya distrubances.
I had written to Late Khalid Hasan about a few clarifications on Kausar Niazi, and in his reply he wrote
“As for Maulana Kausar Niazi, I had a very good relationship with him. You know, he began his political life with the Jamaat-e-Islami. In 1953, when the anti-Ahmediyya riots gripped Punjab, Niazi was barely 20 but he did take part in the agitation and was jailed. The escape in a burqa story is probably apocryphal. I have never heard it. If I were you, I would discount the tale. I can assure you of one thing though: if there was one man in the Bhutto cabinet in 1974 who was opposed to declaring your Jamaat and its followers a minority, it was Maulana Kausar Niazi. He told me this himself. He recalled telling Bhutto, “App iss 80-sala puranay maslay kau haath na lagaiyain. Jahan tuk inn maulvi hazrat ka ta’ullaq hai, aik maulvi doosray maulavi ke peechay namaz bhi parhnay kau tiyyar nahin hai.” (please do not pursue this 80 years old problem. As far as maulvis ar concerned, one maulvi can’t bear to stand behind another to say his ritual prayers) However ZAB went ahead with a decsion which was and will remain a blot on his good name and his judgement. It has divided the nation and it has led to the rise of Mullah power.”
Maulana Niazi helped Bhutto to put a political spin to this and other amendments made during the Bhutto era. Niazi wrote in his book “The last days of premier Bhutto”
"He was referring to the Constitutional Amendment regarding the Ahmadis, which has prompted country wide celebrations. Mr. Bhutto felt that the credit which should have gone to his government had not been accorded. “The maulvis are claiming all credit for the Amendment,” he complained, “we must portray the true picture before the people.” To this Niazi said
“This step has certainly enhanced your popularity in the religious circles,… but these circles do not have much significance from the elections point of view; it’s the majority that matter in a political decision. In context of the present political situation your graph is lower than what it was in 1973.”
But when it came to elections, Mullahs had changed their mind about their savior. Bhutto, the hero, the defender of Khatme Nabuwwat (finality of Prophethood) had become a sinner, a kafir himself. It is ironic that ZAB had to defend his own faith in the court during his trial and the torment is said to have continued even after his death when his faith was allegedly confirmed in a grotesque manner.
Ahmadis were a problem for ZAB not because of a set of relgious ideas. He couldn’t care less for the matters of faith. His close associates during his first election campaign were ahmadis who were loyal to PPP. The establishment and politicains resented the prominence of ahmadis in educated circles. Many top civil servants, army officers and professionals of the country were ahmadis. ZAB found out about the influence of the community when during 1971 elections, Punjab fell to PPP due to the campaign work carried out by ahmadiyya community. This political influence was a threat to every one. And ZAB used the opportunity to stab his own loyal friends in the back, by throwing them to mad mullahs.
As an Ahmadi, I know that although the Jamaat Ahmadiyya leadership severed ties with ZAB after his event, but in mid 1970s when anti-bhutto plans were being hatched in the army, he was sent a message from Rabwah to warn him of the conspiracy. ZAB, as his nature was, dismissed this warning as a cheap trick to confuse him. ZAB’s hanging was a sad day for Pakistan. But it was his actions against the soul of the Pakistani constitution which are his lasting legacy. No one remembers roti plants or the financial security or even the nuclear energy/arms development.
Zia knew the tricks to please the mullahs. He enforced the sharia laws in 1979. And held back the Qisas law until Bhutto was hanged. Fauzia Wahab’s article in The News sheds light on this The trial of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto…
But Mullah’s lust for control and blood is insatiable. Zia himself was a mullah at heart. The ordinance XX should put every Pakistani to shame. I am heartened to find out that someone mentioned such non-ahmadi muslims who refuse to sign the declaration for their passport application. Did you know that an Ahmadi can be (and are) imprisoned in Pakistan for saying Alhamdulillah or Assalamo Alykum? The myths of what ahmadis believed in their hearts were further “improved” by these laws. At first, ZAB held an “in camera” session to declare Ahmadis non-muslims, and the proceedings of this meeting were never made public. A few impression which escaped from the members in later years tell of a hoax played in the name of democracy. Mufti Mahmood, the head of takfiri parties admitted in a speech that after the Ahmadi representative’s arguments, most of the non religious members of the Committee were asking why should we declare such a pious man and his followers kafir?
...ZAB himself was not present at the proceedings by when the matter was brought to him about a possible revolt during the voting process, he himself made sure that each member of PPP voted in favor of the amendment. Such was his grip over his parliament.
As the 1974 proceedings were never made public, the mullahs have made attempts to portray the whole event as a great success, an “ijma” or a consensus by all 72 sects against the one heretic sect. One of the mullahs took the opportunity to write a pamphlet, claiming it to be a true account of what actually happened under the title “Parliament main Qadyani shikast”. I have read the booklet and find it unbelievable that the 17 day debate has been summarized in a few dozen pages. How convenient!
This book aside, there are hundreds of books in circulation which are aimed at the uneducated primary pass classes. In every library, you will find such books in Urdu section, written solely to inflame the reader’s sentiments against ahmadis. No wonder the public gets agitated when the eighth amendment is under threat. The anti-ahmadi laws are part of this amendment. Even poor Musharraf could not touch this part when he suspended the constitution. So it seems that Pakistani constitution has only one permanent feature, i.e., Ahmadis are non-muslims. The rest of it can be put in a rubbish bin, including civil liberties, freedom of speech, women’s rights, economic equality etc.. But beware of the 2nd amendment and ahmadi specific laws! I read a very touching line on a website, someone wrote that the constitution of Pakistan has been reduced to a fatwa. Does this bring any consolation to our hearts?
Zia’s islamization brought many new features to Pakistani society. We found Islamic militancy as an acceptable way of life. But most of it was a continuation of what ZAB started as a political move. Matters got worst when democracy returned. ZAB’s favorite daughter provided the political voice to Maulvis by giving the importance. The same maulvis virtually came back in power during Nawaz Sharif’s era. Everyone forgot about Islamic militancy as it was happening in Kashmir. Jhangvi and Sipah Sahaba groups were still active in Pakistan. You heard people being killed every other day. The frequency increased as more and more militants were recruited by the jihadi backed seminaries and training camps. They were put to use against Shias mainly. I guess this was inevitable. If you keep letting loose vicious guard dogs, they will bite any stranger that comes near them. The reason a hard-line Pakistani zealot finds it easy to kill is the Takfiri mentality he has been taught by his masters. Shia are Kafir, Ahmadis are Kafir, anyone who agrees with Kafirs is a Kafir. So all of us become Kafirs in the end and much easier to kill.
On March 14th, a couple was brutally murdered in their home in Multan. http://thepersecution-org.blogspot.com/2009/03/bru tal-murder-of-two-ahmadi-doctors-in.html… This was on the eve of the great celebration when Pakistanis got their justice system back. I searched for the news story on all the online papers and TV stations. I could not find it. Both victims were doctors and were receiving threats from unknown zealots. In September last year, two more prominent ahmadis were murdered after the broadcast of “Alim online” celebrating the great victory in ZAB’s parliament. The maulvis on the programme declared Ahmadis as “Wajibul Qatl” due to their heretical beliefs. These are examples of a deeply set disease in Pakistani mindset. The society ignores the victims of such crimes because they are not considered worthy to be cared for.
Last night I was having discussion with my non-ahmadi friends and one of them remarked that there are only two types of people you can kill. One, those who reject God and secondly those who blaspheme. I asked for a reason but he had none apart from some remnants of a mullahs opinion which got mixed up with his own naive understanding of Islam. Another of my friends earnestly believes that targeting civilians in Israel is fine as the situation there is “special”. Both these friends are graduates and do not belong to the religious classes. Now imagine the hundreds of thousands of madrissa graduates being churned out into Pakistani streets every year. And imagine what life skills they have got? What is their world view? How do they see Pakistan? Answers are very difficult and very alarming. May God save us all.
Further reading:
Anti Ahmadi laws. Ordinance XX - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The second amendment. http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/ame ndments/2amendment.html…
Cosmic anger, by Gordon Fraser. Cosmic Anger: Abdus Salam - the … - Google Buchsuche 29&dq=eighth++pakistan+ahmadis&as_brr=3&ei=pM7ZSbD 2JaiSzQTajKnkAg&hl=en#PPA32,M1
First hand account by an Ahmadi delegate to 1974 proceedings.??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ???](http://www.alislam.org/v/46.html)
Memorandum presented to the members of Parliament by the Ahmadi delegation in 1974 www.alislam.org/urdu/pdf/…
Qadiani Problem. Maudoodi’s take on the issue. http://www.maududi.org/urdu/pamphlets/qadiani_masa la.php?p=35…