Is Pakistan the right place to live in if one belongs to a minority

community?
December 29, 2009- a powerful bomb sets off at MA Jinnah road in Karachi during the Shia 1oth
Moharam procession commemorating the Death anniversary of the Prophets (P.B.U.H) grandson, killing
at least 43 people and injured another 60, and began a series of blasts and targeted killings of the Shia
community in Pakistan. The blast was followed the 21st Ramadan bomb blast in Lahore at the Youm e
Ali procession claiming the lives of 18 and injuring around 190 people, 6th Moharam bomb blast in
Rawalpindi, 27th Moharam Bomb blast in Quetta killing 106 shia Hazara Muslims during a procession and
another blast in a market in Quetta on 16th February 2013 claimed the lives of 84 shia hazara muslims
and injured 190 more, bomb blast in Karachis Shia dominated neighbourhood of Abbas town caused 45
more deaths and wounded 150 and lastly twin blasts in Parachinar caused 60 more deaths and 187
injuries . According to Pakistans interior ministry, 2090 Shia Muslims have been killed in Pakistan in
bombings and target killings since the Ashura blast in 2009; However law makers argue that the figure
can be much higher than reported. 13 targeted Shia killings occurred in Karachi just in the last 10 days of
Ramadan 2014. Be it Shia Doctors, teachers, scholars, lawyers, Bankers or other Professionals, all have
faced similar fates on the streets of Karachi. Even a poultry shop owner was killed on sectarian grounds.
Yesterday at 11:30 two Shiite shop owners, Syed Hamid and Ashraf were gunned down in FC area in
Karachi. Keeping the ongoing violence in mind which has claimed thousands of lives in the past 5 years,
is Pakistan the right to place to live if one belongs to the minority Shiite community?

On My 28, 2010- two militants with suicide vests infiltrated an Ahmedi mosque in Lahore
model town and blew themselves while two more entered another Ahmedi mosque in Garhi
Shahu shooting on the worshippers during the Friday prayer, claiming the lives of 94 and
mutilating 120 others and setting off a wave of violence against Ahmadis. Target Killings of
Ahmadis continue to escalate in Pakistan where in the past 5 years incidents like January 28, a
court at Vehari, Punjab, sentenced three Ahmadis to imprisonment and fines on charges of
preaching their religion, On February 3, an Ahmadi was killed at Shehdadpur, Sindh. On April 1,
three Ahmadi traders were ambushed and killed near Faisalabad. An Ahmadi Mr. Muhammad
Nawaz was shot dead in similar fashion on 12 September another Ahmadi Mr. Abdul Ghaffar
was shot dead on 7 September. Ahmad named Imtiaz Ahmad murdered in Nawabshah, 14 July, 2014. On
26th May, 2014, an Ahmedi doctor Mehdi Ali Qamar who was on his annual visit to Pakistan to
offer services at Tahrir Health Institute, was shot 11 times as he was exiting a graveyard in
Chenab Nagar. On 16th May 2014, a 65 year old Ahmadi man was shot in a police lockup in
Sialkot for alleged Blasphemy. On 26th July, an Ahmadi man was poisoned and shot dead in
Gojra T.TEK Singh. 28th July 2014, an angry mob burnt down 5 houses belonging to the Ahmedi
community in the Arafat Colony area in Gujranwala causing deaths of 3 Ahmadis, an infant
Kainat, a 7 year old girl Hira and an elderly woman Bashiran, also causing a miscarriage for a 7
month pregnant woman, the reason being a blasphemous FaceBook post by an Ahmadi. All
Ahmedi families fled the area in fear of their lives after the incident. Bearing in mind the few of
many mentioned Incidents of persecutions and brutality against Ahmadis, is Pakistan a safe
place to live if one belongs to the minority Ahmediya community?

8th March, 2009- police officer inform the Christian residents of Joseph colony in badami bagh
to evacuate their homes because an outraged mob will attack the colony in the next 24 hours
for alleged blasphemy and on 9th march, angry people attacked the colony burning down 178
houses while some miscreants looted the shops and whatever remained of the houses. On
September 22nd 2013, twin blasts at Peshawars all saints church claimed around 80 lives and
injured more than 13o innocent people at the church for Sunday services. Furthermore, several
incidents of targeted killings against Christians have been reported over the years. According to
an NGO, world vision in progress, 14,000 Christians fled Pakistan in the past year due to
increasing blasphemy accusations, terrorism and killings of Christians. Considering all this, is
Pakistan a safe place to live for the minority Christian community?

A country where anyone with a beard is able to dictate fatwas declaring religious or ethnic
minorities to be Kafir, a country where blasphemy laws are abused to burn down entire
neighborhoods without any accountability such as the Christian colony in Badami bagh, a
country where terrorists who openly claim to have been involved in Killings of religious
minorities, are respectfully released from custody, a country where banned militant
organizations operate freely and a country where the police and security forces fail to cope
with increasing oppression against minorities, is Pakistan a safe place for minorities?..