“The choice is between practically renouncing our faith or vote. This is not a real choice. It would have been better had the government outright banned Ahmadis from voting since then they would rightly receive international criticism for doing that.”
Source/Credit: Human Rights Watch
By Human Rights Watch | June 28, 2018
(New York) – The Pakistani government should immediately act to allow the full and equal participation of members of the Ahmadiyya religious community in the general elections scheduled for July 25, 2018, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should drop discriminatory provisions in the electoral law that effectively exclude Ahmadis because of their religious beliefs.
The Ahmadiyya community regards Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of their sect, as a prophet, a claim that the dominant Muslim faiths and Pakistani law reject. To register as voters, Ahmadis must either renounce their faith or agree to be placed in a separate electoral list and accept their status as “non-Muslim.” Self-identification as Muslims, however, is the cornerstone of Ahmadiyya religious belief, and thus they end up not voting at all.
“The elections in Pakistan can’t be ‘free and fair’ if an entire community is effectively excluded from the electoral process,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Religious disagreements cannot justify denying people their right to vote.”
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