On Friday, an Ahmadi Muslim man named Naseer Ahmad was stabbed to death for refusing to chant the Islamist slogans in the eastern town of Rabwah, Pakistan. The accused has been identified as Shehzad Rizvi who approached Ahmad and asked him to chant ‘Labbaik ya Rasool Allah’ and ‘Khadim Hussain Rizvi zindabad’. On refusing, Rizvi killed the Ahmadi, the Police confirmed. The accused is a Tehrik-e-Labbaik supporter, a party founded by Islamist Khadim Hussain Rizvi. In April 2021, Imran Khan banned the Islamist party, however, it was unbanned in November 2021.
According to the reports, the Police immediately arrested the accused on the spot and started the investigation into the case. Members of the long-persecuted Ahmadi minority, who view themselves as an Islamic movement, experience prejudice and violence in Pakistan because their ideology is accused of insulting Islam.
62-year-old Ahmadi man stabbed to death by a Tehrik-e-Labbaik supporter in Rabwah. On a bus stop Naseer Ahmad was approached by the killer Shehzad Rizvi who asked him to chant ‘Labbaik ya Rasool Allah’ and ‘Khadim Hussain Rizvi zindabad’. On declining Naseer was killed. pic.twitter.com/oNl0aGgnXa
— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) August 12, 2022
Saleem ud Din, the spokesperson of the Ahmadi community confirmed that the deceased was an Ahmadi Muslim. “The accused asked him to raise the slogans of an Islamist party. On refusal, he repeatedly stabbed and killed him on spot”, he said. He added that Ahmad was an active member of the Ahmadi community and was standing at a bus stop when the incident happened.
Reportedly, after killing the 62-year-old Ahmadi man, the accused raised slogans and said, “kill the one who insults the Prophet”, the video of which went viral over social media.
After stabbing the Ahmadi man, the killer Shehzad Rizvi citing
— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) August 12, 2022
‘مَنْ سَبَّ نَبِیًّا فَاقْتُلُوْہٗ’
‘Kill the one who insults the Prophet’, a hadith promoted by Tehrik-e-Labbaik and its leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi. pic.twitter.com/9H38glu4OT
Meanwhile, the Chiniot district police who are investigating the case said that the motive of the murder is suspected to be the deceased’s refusal to raise the Islamist slogans but it is not yet confirmed. “We are investigating the motive behind the murder, (the suspect’s) links to any Islamist party have not been found yet”, he added.
چینیوٹ پولیس نے واقعہ میں ملوث ملزم کو فوری گرفتار کر لیا۔ پولیس متاثرہ فیملی سے رابطے میں ہے۔
— Chiniot Police (@chiniot_police) August 12, 2022
واقعہ کی تحقیق و تفتیش کیلئے سینئر افسران کی سربراہی میں انویسٹی گیشن ٹیم تشکیل دے دی گئی ہے۔ https://t.co/95RAcciOEE pic.twitter.com/Gx5YCYpzrG
Reports mention that Ahmadis, a community that arose in British-controlled India in the nineteenth century, are considered heretical by orthodox Muslims and are prohibited from calling themselves Muslims or using Islamic emblems in their religious ceremonies in Pakistan.
Earlier, a similar incident had happened in May in Okra district when Abdul Salam aged 33 who was also a member of the Ahmadi community was stabbed by a seminary student. Several rights groups for years have expressed concerns regarding the persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan. They say that the Pakistan government has done nothing to date to protect the minority citizens.
