Invocation of Ordinance XX or XXI [PAK4507]

On 7 September 1974, the Ahmadis were declared non-Muslim in a constitutional amendment by the Pakistan National Assembly under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. [ Judge Gustaf Petrén, et al. Pakistan: Human Rights After Martial Law, Geneva: International Commission of Jurists, 1987, p. 103; U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1989), p. 1468.] In April 1984, President Zia issued Ordinance XX, which provides for prison terms of up to three years or unlimited fines for any member of the Ahmadi, Lahori, or Quadiani faith who in any way poses as a Muslim or refers to himself as a Muslim. Although the Ahmadiyya movement is a sect of Islam, it is a minority one which is not recognized as Islamic by many other Muslim groups in Pakistan because of some doctrinal differences. [ Karen Parker, Human Rights Advocates, Inc. Human Rights in Pakistan, San Francisco: Human Rights Advocates, Inc. 1987, p. 16.
] This law has not been repealed under Benazir Bhutto. A two-thirds majority is needed to make a constitutional amendment, and Prime Minister Bhutto cannot count on the required majority in the current volatile political climate in Pakistan.

No information on an "Ordinance XXI" is among the sources currently available to the IRBDC.

At least 12 Ahmadis were reportedly murdered for their religious beliefs between 1983 and 1985 and, according to External Affairs, Ahmadi property and Mosques were defaced or destroyed in April 1989. [ External Affairs communique of 10 August 1989 discusses the ransacking and burning of Ahmadi homes on 12 April; Karen Parker, pp. 28-30.] The U.S Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, contains allegations that Ahmadis are discriminated against in employment, and many rights and freedoms (e.g. of association, assembly, and speech) are reduced or denied. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Government Printers, 1989), p. 1459.] Although it does not mention Ordinance XX, a publication called New Canada: The Leading Voice of New Canadians alleges that the Pakistani police have registered criminal cases against 40,000 innocent Ahmadi Muslims, the entire population of Rabwah (the International Headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Movement). The `crimes' they have been charged with are `Why Ahmadi Muslims say Assalamo Alaikum and recite Kalima Tayyaba... before their Fajr prayers, and use of Islamic terminology'...
The IRBDC does not have further corroboration for the article in New Canada, but a copy is attached for your information.

Please refer to the U.S. Department of State Country Reports in the Toronto Documentation Centre, as well as other materials on Ahmadis.

Attachment:

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"Police Registers Cases Against 40,000 Ahmadi Muslims, The Entire Population of Rabwah Face Jail Terms", New Canada: The Leading Voice of New Canadians, Vol. 3:4, 16 February 1990.