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.
Ayesha Fazl,
You just contradicted your earlier claim that they enrolled as Muslims … Btw I am sure each one of them is a better Muslim than you.
Miss Ayesha Fazal,
Please let us know what blasphemy took place at PMC? What did the ahmadi students utter which constituted “foul language” against the Holy Prophet (saw)?
First, let’s applaude whoever intervened in order to lessen the penalty. If it was Shabaz, hats off to him. The probable total innocence of the Punjab-23 notwithstanding. Hopefully further investigations into the matter will reveal the latter contention, and even the two-week suspension would be deemed unfair, excessive and bigoted.
But folks, just take a moment to think of where the world is right now and in contrast where we are in Pakistan. Today it is reported that NASA plans to send a mission, sun Probe plus, to the sun in order to study its atmosphere. The spokesperson quoted in the report appears from her name to be an Indian. US high-tech predator drones and F-15’s reportedly launched several 500-pound bombs inside the territory of Pakistan, killing 11 Pakistani soldiers and wounding 7. Perhaps meaning their intended mission accomplished.
Pakistan, meanwhile is suffering from terrible shortages of crop yields, making her more and more dependent upon foreign aid. Seems like our days of this sort of economic slavery aren’t going to be over soon.
In spite of our perilous condition, in Pakistan we’re consumed with making decisions about who is a proper Muslim and who is not, and who should be free to preach faith and who should not. As many have pointed out, that’s God’s job, not ours. After having been at it for so long, by now we should have figured out that God’s job is not easy, no wonder He’s called The Greatest (Allahu Akbar!). See what happens when you try to do a job you’re not qualified for? But it appears that some of us will just never learn :) .
Why can’t we all just get along, as has been said many times, and others in the world have learned how to do?
Leaving aside all the intellectual talk about the contraints and parameters of the Pakistani constitution, the whole fiasco is a classic case of the STATE and its organs being the judge, jury and the executioner!
as for the constitution of Pakistan, it is, with all no disrespect intended, a joke! nothing more, nothing else! a military dictator brings in changes declaring people non-muslims. for 1400 years any1 who recited the kalima was held to be a Muslim even if the person was a known hypocrite, yet the great pakistani constitution for the 1st time in 14 centuries has decided, in its own unique wisdom, of how to define who a Muslim is and the new definition is: you are a muslim so long as you are not an Ahmadi.
what a shame!
correction =they do agree they enrolled as muslim students