Ahmadiyya community once again receives a blow in Pakistan

Pakistan once again denied to give them the status of minority.

Pakistan's Religious Affairs Ministry had earlier decided to approach the federal cabinet seeking a review of a decision that pertained to the inclusion of a member of the Ahmadiyya community in the National Commission for Minorities, media reports said.

The move of including Ahmadiyya community in the National Commission for Minorities triggered massive protests in the country.

According to sources, Religious Affairs Minister Pir Noorul Haq Qadri told federal secretary Mushtaq Ahmad to approach the Cabinet Division for a review, which will be taken up in the next meeting, reported Pakistan Today.

Qadri, however, told newspaper that the decision was not made by the cabinet and there was only a discussion about the composition of the National Commission for Minorities.

Earlier, the federal cabinet had approved on principle the inclusion of Ahmadis in the National Commission for Minorities on the directions of Prime Minister Imran Khan and directed the Ministry of Religious Affairs to reconstitute the National Commission for Minorities, reported the newspaper.

In Pakistan, the community was included in the commission for the first time in 1974.

The community was then declared as non-Muslim by the then Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government.

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: “The Ahmadis are among the most persecuted communities in Pakistan and to exclude them from a minority rights commission is absurd.”

“Keeping Ahmadis off the commission shows the extent to which the community faces discrimination every day," the HRW director said.

The government should immediately reverse its decision to exclude Ahmadiyya community members from the NCM, Human Rights Watch said. It should ensure that the new commission is independent and empowered to make policy recommendations, investigate human rights violations, and propose remedies.