Atif Mian
On Thursday, June 5th, the principal of Punjab Medical College, Faisalabad, expelled every student who belonged to the Ahmadi community from the college.
A total of twenty three students, fifteen female and eight male, across the five years of medical school have been expelled as a result. Further details regarding the incident can also be found in reports from the BBC and from the Daily Times.
The Ahmadi students were “accused” of preaching their religious beliefs. The principal was pressured into expelling the entire Ahmadi student body by a mob of protesters belonging to Islami Jamiat e Talaba. The mob circled the Principal’s office and demanded the expulsions. The same day, a mob of about 300 college students also barged into Ahmadi students’ rooms, beat them and threw their luggage out of their rooms.
What makes this incident especially troubling is the fact that the decision to expel Ahmadi students was taken by a government-run medical school, under full knowledge of the relevant Punjab ministries.
As an academic, and a Pakistani, I am totally appalled by this latest incidence of religious fanaticism. One hopes that the present Punjab government turns a page, and instead of supporting the forces of extremism, comes to the protection of its ordinary citizens.
Atif Mian is Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.
@Ibrahim: With due respect,
What a sorry state this beloved country of ours is in. Those training to save lives are punished for their so called ‘heretical’ beliefs. The people in power will of course turn a blind eye to this latest incident (yet another nail in the coffin of our nation) because they have no courage to stand up for the down trodden in our society. Nations are judged by how they treat their minorities. Sadly by this measure our nation is amongst the lowest of the lows.
Paraphrasing Pastor Martin Niem
I wonder if the newly elected “lion” of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif will have the guts to deal with this issue.
It’s both disturbing and amusing to see radicals from the Jamaat and such trying to take ownership of Pakistan, when historically, they were actually against the creation of Pakistan in the first place.
The family of Hazrat Maulana Hakeem Nooruddin Khalifa Awal (1) is known to all of us and is given due respect. I do not want to comment or negate PakAm Muslim on the face value but instead promise to find out the truth for him if I can.
With Loving Care,
MA
Pakistan is sealing its fate. It is destroying itself from the inside. If the leadership of Pakistan has even an iota of ethics or respect for Allah and Islam, they will overturn this atrocity this instant. If they wish to continue down this path of self destruction, they’ve taken another huge step towards that target. May Allah have mercy on Pakistan.
I have no doubts that Allah will reward the 23 students expelled beyond their wildest prayers, Insha’allah.
Chicago, USA