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.
it is sad that such an incident has happened in Pakistan. Expelling a couple of Ahmedia students on the pretext of preaching their religion in medical college is really absurd. Students who were about to me doctors in a couple of years have been deliberately deprived of the right to be doctors on the assertion of Islami Jamait tulba.
It is also debatable as to whether “AHMEDIAS” are muslim or not. A bleak decision in Pakistan’s history of which no one gained any thing except a few notorious organizations in Pakistan.
Had this incident of expulsion happened in highly integral countries the principal would have had to pay for the ugly act. This act is shameful, assaultive and insulting.
Islam is being preached as peaceful religion and with our actions we prove otherwise.
It is really sad to know that non muslims have no right in this country. They have been time and again discriminated my the majority specially the mullahs in the name of blasphemy and other such religious laws which provide no protection to the minorities. And amongst these the Ahmadis have been the worst hit. Ppl have tried to justify the recent expulsion of Ahmadi students by stating the ahmadis don’t have a right to preach their religion however our constitution clearly states that a person is free to practice, profess and propagate his religion. Just because Pakistan was made on the name of Islam doesn’t mean that non muslims have no right in this country or we muslims have a licence to treat them as second class citizens. It’s high time that we muslims should stand up against these so called maulvis (who have no idea about the religion) and provide protection to the country’s non muslims who account for just 3.72% of the total pop of Pakistan and thus need our help. Lets all make a better Pakistan, a Pakistan which was envisaged by Quaid-e-Azam and not the one which is envisaged by racist religious parties like the JI and Jamiat e Tulaba
There is an interesting contemporary comparison. The bigoted mullahs tried to prevent ahmadis from holding public events in Hyderabad, India as well. The difference in India though is that the High court ruled in favor of the Ahmadis.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/14/stories/2008061 458690300.htm
@Zahra Asif:
“I believe it was a wise action as such a re-admission could lead to violent protests and put the lives of those 23 Qadiani students in danger as well. Let me assure you, brothers, that there were no Jama