Pakistan: Court orders police to take action against Ahmadi worship place Darul Zikr

Pakistan: Court orders police to take action against Ahmadi worship place Darul Zikr

Darul Zikr, a historical worship place of the community, is located in the Garhi Shahu area of Lahore. According to members of the community, Darul Zikr was built in 1952.

LAHORE: Two years after the tragic attack on worshippers at Darul Zikr, an additional session judge, when faced with a petition calling for action against an Ahmadi worship place in Garhi Shaho, ruled that the police should take action as per the Pakistan Penal Code.

 Advocate Badar Alam last month moved an application against members of the Ahmadi community in the Garhi Shahu police station under section 298 B (d) and 298 C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

 The application further asked for the removal of the Kalma from the front of the worship place and for demolishing the minaret and dome as per the Prohibition and Punishment Ordinance of 1984.

 However, in its order, the Judge ruled that the concerned SHO was in full knowledge of the building, and that he should take actions as per law in view of contents of application moved by the petitioner.

 SHO Garhi Shahu Safdar Sajjad, in the first week of May, preserved the drafting of Kalma by putting up walls of steel over it and refused to demolish minaret and dome. Following this, Alam moved the case to an additional session judge’s court in Lahore where the ruling was issued and the case was closed.

 Ahmadi spokesperson Saleemuddin said that they would challenge the ruling in the higher courts, adding that the minaret was built before the introduction of legislations against the community and said that the court’s order was not according to the law.

 Darul Zikr, a historical worship place of the community, is located in the Garhi Shahu area of Lahore. According to members of the community, Darul Zikr was built in 1952.

 Earlier, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a fresh reminder to Pakistan’s government to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice.

 Two years ago, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) forces entered the worship place but failed to demolish or damage the building despite massive human causalities.

 On Friday, May 28, 2010, over 88 people were killed in twin gun-and-bomb attacks at Ahmadi places of worship in the Garhi Shahu and Model Town areas in Lahore.

 Correction: An earlier version of this article had incorrectly mentioned that the court had ordered the Ahmadi community to demolish the minaret and dome of the worship place. The court has directed the police officer to take action ‘as per law in view of contents of application moved by petitioner’.


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Abdul Manan | May 30, 2012