Awais Ahmad

Afghanistan resumes public executions

Published: Dec. 22, 2022

An Afghan man was publicly executed on Dec. 7 in the southwestern Farah province, in the country’s first such instance since the Taliban retook power in August last year. The man executed had been accused of murder and theft in 2017 and was fatally shot by the alleged victim’s father under the supervision of Taliban officials. The execution follows a series of public floggings of both men and women accused of crimes such as adultery and running away from home. Afghan officials decried the subsequent international outcry and defended their stance by saying the execution follows the Islamic law of “qisas” which is interpreted as retributive justice. This allows for a perpetrator to serve punishment for a crime in the same manner as the said crime was committed. An eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth, and a life for a life. 

Watch for:  In the weeks that followed the Taliban’s Kabul takeover last August, the group portrayed itself in a moderate image that promised a departure from its regressive practices, including the ones it utilized while previously in power between 1996 and 2001. These claims of a more moderate rule directly contradict Afghanistan’s reality which has seen a plethora of new restrictions placed on women, including but not limited to a total ban on education. Women are also required to wear head-to-toe clothing in public, are barred from entering gyms and parks and have been restricted from most fields of employment. Nearly a year and half since the takeover, the Afghan Taliban have appeared to drop all pretense of a non-oppressive rule, marking a shift in their governing approach.

Pakistan flooding

Published: July 28, 2022

Hundreds of people have been killed in Pakistan since mid-June as unusually heavy monsoon rains continue to lash large parts of the country, leaving some of its largest cities, especially Karachi, paralyzed in their wake. Outside of Karachi, which has seen at least 31 people killed so far, the country’s Baluchistan province remains the worst affected with more than 100 people killed and thousands of structures damaged or destroyed since the beginning of the monsoon season.. 

Watch for: Residents in the worst-hit cities have criticized the government for its lackluster response in dealing with the monsoon season that brings devastating rains to the country each year. Officials cited climate change as the biggest factor in the widespread damage caused by these torrential rains, which continue to intensify each year. Meanwhile, experts believe other factors like lack of emergency preparedness and poor urban planning also play a role. Above normal rainfall is expected to continue across the country throughout the season, which usually occurs between June and September, but weather authorities forecast a drier season during its second half beginning on Aug. 15. 

Motion of no confidence against Pakistani prime minister

Published: March 17, 2022

Last week, Pakistan’s opposition, led by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), submitted a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan, accusing him of mismanaging the economy amid high inflation and depleting foreign reserves. The move came after Khan’s refusal to resign, a demand put forth by the PPP at the end of its long march in Islamabad on the same day. The opposition now requires a simple majority of 172 votes in the National Assembly to oust the premier. While the opposition claims it will have the required votes, Khan, who voluntarily sought a no-confidence vote from the National Assembly in March 2021 and won, remains confident. 

Watch for: Though the rules of the no-confidence motion require a National Assembly session to be convened within 14 days, PTI Senator Faisal Javed announced the vote will take place after the premier addresses a rally in Islamabad on March 27. Only two other Pakistani premiers have faced a no-confidence motion, with no prime minister in the country’s history ever removed from office through this process. If the motion passes, the National Assembly will be tasked with voting in a new premier, a year before the country’s next general elections. 

U.S. Mission to UN condemns Algeria’s treatment of Ahmadis

06/08/2017

At the 27th session of the United Nation’s Universal Periodic Review held in Geneva, Switzerland, the United States mission to Geneva expressed its concerns over the arrest of minority Ahmadiyya Muslims in Algeria.

The U.S. representative at the session, Sheila Leonard said:

We are concerned by recent arrests of Ahmadi [AH-ma-dee] Muslims, which call into question Algeria’s respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

We recommend that Algeria:

1. Amend the Law on Associations to remove undue restrictions on civil society organizations.

2. Work to ensure constitutional guarantees of the inviolability of freedom of thought, conscience, and religions are carried out for all, including for Ahmadi Muslims, and provide that community with the accreditation it needs to worship openly and in compliance with Algerian law.

3. Amend Penal Code articles that punish peaceful free expression with prison terms, to conform to Algeria’s Constitution.

The United States also conveyed its concerns over the arrest of members of the independent media.

The Universal Period Review or UPR is part of the United Nation’s Human Rights Council (HRC) which aims to improve the human rights situation in the U.N. Member States. Each year, 42 states are reviewed in three sessions, which are held in January/February, May/June, and October/November. During every session, each State under review is provided with a list of recommendations which it has to implement before the next review.

This review comes after over 70 Ahmadis, including community leaders, were arrested in Algeria last year. The arrests started early 2016 but intensified in July 2016.

This article was originally published on Rabwah Times. 

The Case of Asia Bibi and Pakistan’s Treatment of Its Religious Minorities

11/30/2018

When the Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned the original verdict in the Asia Bibi case in late October, protesters flooded the streets all over the country, calling for her execution. Now they are going “house to house,” hunting her and her family. This is the Pakistan I was born in and the Pakistan that scares me.

In 2010, a Christian woman named Aasiya Noreen, commonly known as Asia Bibi, was sentenced to death by hanging in a blasphemy case. The verdict was upheld by the Lahore High Court. Bibi would have been the first person in Pakistan’s history to be executed for the crime of blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.

She spent eight years on death row before the Supreme Court acquitted her due to insufficient evidence. This decision sparked nationwide protests by Islamist groups, with death threats sent to Bibi and the three Supreme Court justices involved in the case. A number of countries have offered Bibi asylum, but she is not allowed to leave the country.

I have experienced a flood of varying emotions as I watched all of this unfold. I was overjoyed to see Bibi regain her freedom, but I am still scared for her. Many in Pakistan still want her dead.

I am also angry about so many aspects of this case: I am angry at the law that is so vague and broad that it could keep a woman jailed on death row for eight years over the insufficient testimony of two neighbors. I am angry at the protestors calling for her execution, and I am angry at the government for negotiating with protestors, further jeopardizing Bibi’s safety by denying her leave from the country.

I also can’t help but feel sad about the eight long years that Bibi served for being a religious minority. I am sad that this is what Pakistan has become since General Zia-ul-Haq put the country under martial law in 1976 and that there are other citizens, serving time for the same ‘crime,’ whose stories will never be told.

This Pakistan scares me because, technically, Ahmadis in Pakistan commit the crime of blasphemy every single day by just existing. By all means, this community of mine belongs to Islam, but the Constitution of Pakistan declares otherwise.

Pakistan has legalized our persecution by classifying the Ahmadiyya community as a non-Muslim minority, refusing us the rights to vote, identify our houses of worship as mosques, assert ourselves as Muslims and simply exist.

Most of all, I am confused. After living in the U.S. for the past 10 years, it can be very easy to hold a fantastical, romanticized view of the country in which I was born. However, I cannot ignore my own knowledge either. I cannot pretend that this ugliness doesn’t exist in my country because I know what it means to be an Ahmadi in Pakistan, to wake up as a nine-year-old during the holy month of Ramadan to the news that eight of my community members were shot to death during morning prayer at the mosque. I know what it’s like to live a concealed life, to see my mother be forced out of a job because of our faith, to have recurring nightmares as a young boy of my throat being slit because my religious identity was discovered.

The Supreme Court may have released Bibi, but this is only the beginning of the troubles that she and others like her in the religious minority will face. Pakistan will never release the Ahmadis that have been jailed under the same law, especially when Islamist groups continue to be legitimized.

Prime Minister Imran Khan won the election earlier this year under the promise of bringing about a “naya Pakistan,” new and reformed. The youth voted him into office. It was supposed to bring about an era of tabdeeli (change) and hope, right?

I am not hopeful.

This article was originally published on Brown Girl Magazine. 

Review: Islam, Race, and Pluralism in the Pakistani Diaspora

05/29/2017

In his book, Islam, Race, and Pluralism in the Pakistani Diaspora, Dr. Craig Considine explores the experiences of several Pakistani American and Pakistani Irish men. He expertly unpacks these experiences while also being extra diligent in avoiding the notion of a singular diasporic identity and maintaining and furthering the heterogeneity present within the community. Further, these experiences are brilliantly contextualized through the compendious exploration of histories of Boston and Ireland, the settings of his research. Ultimately, the book puts an emphasis on the agency that Pakistani men in Boston and Ireland have over their response, and often resistance, to being marginalized.

Dr. Considine structures his research into 8 chapters. The first two chapters provide necessary background into his research as well as important theories that would be discussed later in the book and the last chapter provides possible solutions towards “fostering religious pluralism and interculturalism.” His interviews with Pakistani men are structured into the other five chapters, each focusing on a different theme including, but not limited to, the dichotomy of the “good” versus “bad” Muslim, and political issues such as terrorism. He also introduces the term “Pakphobia” which describes a fear of or apprehension towards Pakistani people in America and Ireland.

There are many issues Dr. Considine tackles within the book which naturally comes through from the multiplicity and pluralism present within the Pakistani community. A heavy focus is placed on the heterogeneity in the Pakistani diaspora. This is exemplified through the case studies which include a wide array of Pakistani men, differing in age, socioeconomic statuses, religions, sects, sub-ethnicities, as well as sexual orientation. There is Anwar, an Ahmadi Muslim born and raised in America, Nadeem, a self-described “devout Muslim” living in Ireland, Omar, a Salafist getting a medical degree from Boston, Maliq, a second-generation Irish Sufi, Hamayun, a 20-year old gay Muslim who spent the first 14 years of his life in Pakistan, and many more. The stories of these men prove that Pakistanis and Muslims are not members of a homogenous community. Rather, they have their own stories and their own journeys.

There is heavy complexity both in the structure and the content of the book yet Dr. Considine explains the ideas in a very accessible manner. He is, however, careful in that he does not oversimplify ideas, maintaining the truth of the ideas. He also crafts these complex ideas in such a way that it does not leave the reader overwhelmed. Pakistani people are not the only ones who would gain from this book. The book is rich with knowledge that would enlighten and expand the mind of any reader. Perhaps the best part about the creation of this book is that it comes from a place of peace and tolerance. Dr. Considine dedicates it to the “bridge builders.” This book is a profound step towards doing exactly that: building a bridge. Dr. Considine deserves high-praise for the feat he has managed to accomplish with this book.

Craig’s book which comes out on July 11th has already been endorsed Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who is a lawyer, politician, and member of the British House of Lords:

“Considine unpicks the complex journey of identity through the lens of the Pakistani experience both in the US and Europe. Placing both belief and bigotry in context, challenging both inter and intra community tensions and using the personal accounts of individuals he humanizes the monolithic myth of ‘the Pakistani.’ An important and timely contribution by a committed bridge builder.”

Dr. Mona Siddiqui, who is a Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Edinburgh University also endorsed the book saying:

“Pakistani Muslims are often seen as one of the most controversial ethnic and religious groups on issues of identity and integration. In this well researched and empathetic study of Pakistani diasporas in Ireland and the US, Craig Considine has made a valuable contribution to the literature on Muslims in the West and the language of `us’ and `them’ which continues to inform the political and social narrative of citizenship.”

This article was originally published in Rabwah Times.