Discrimination continues in Pak: IHC negates petition to include Ahmadiyyas in National Commission for Minorities

A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani conducted hearing of the petition and rejected the same by terming it as non-maintainable after the arguments of Tariq Asad Advocate, the counsel for the petitioner, The Nation reported.

In his petition, the petitioner requested the court that the decision of not including the Ahmadiyyas in NCM be set aside and pleaded court to issue directions for inclusion of Ahmadiyyas as non-Muslim in the NCM, the newspaper said.

The petition was filed by Shohda Foundation of Pakistan's trustee Hafiz Ihtesham Ahmad.

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.