In 1973, the then president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Sardar Abdul Qayyum declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims, a step which the Pakistani government had not yet taken. In the same year, Rabta-e-Alam-e-Islami Conference in Saudi Arabia also gave its stamp of approval to oust Ahmadis from the circle of Islam. The unfortunate beating of the students of Nishtar Medical College, Multan, on May 29, 1974, proved to be a major incident that infuriated Muslims in Pakistan. The students, going on train, started shouting against Ahmadis while reaching Rabwah – the headquarter city of Ahmadis in Pakistan – resulting in a violent reaction of Ahmadis to the students on the train on their way back. This incident ignited violent protests across the country, and resulted in the issue coming before the Pakistan Parliament later the same year. A delegation of Ahmadiyya scholars, including their head, Mirza Nasir Ahmad, and leading clerics of the time like Mufti Mahmood Ahmed, Shah Ahmad Noorani, Professor Ghafoor Ahmed and many others participated in the 15-day debate in the Pakistan parliament. The governments case was prosecuted by the secular Attorney-General, Yahya Bakhtiar of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Some members of Parliament were initially sceptical, but in the end, voted unanimously to pass the Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan in December 1974. This amendment declares Ahmadis non-Muslim for the purposes of the Constitution as Pakistans President and Prime Minister must be of the Muslim faith.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 15:42:56 +0000
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