Cue the curtain on Pakistani minorities

On 28 May 2010, two Ahmadi “places of worship” were attacked simultaneously during Friday prayers in Lahore. As the siege went on for hours, news channels across the board were strewn with live footage from the scene of attack. For the first time in Pakistani history, Ahmadi community, and the persecution they had faced since the time they were declared non-Muslim in 1974, started being discussed openly on television. Sane people watched the drama unfold amidst increasing horror. In the middle of all this mayhem, a friend at a news channel overheard a colleague begrudgingly say “its live television, so we can’t do anything about it. But we will make sure the issue dies by tomorrow.”

Freedom for all religions

In a country founded on the idea of providing religious freedoms against oppression faced in pre-partition India, it is tragic to note the cruel twist of fate where a minority community is prohibited to perform their religious rituals. Unfortunately, however, this is exactly what happened with the Sikh community in Lahore last week, citing a most insensitive excuse.