Pakistan: Ahmadi Sect Surgeon Abducted With His Son

November 3, 2011

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

A senior surgeon belonging to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam has been missing since October 30, 2011. He was traveling in a car with his son of eleven years. The car was found abandoned far away from his home.

Dr. Shah Muhammad Javed, a resident of Sadiqabad Mohallah Kotli Azad Kashmir, the Pakistani part of Kashmir, is a Senior Surgeon in Kotli District Hospital and also owns and operates a private clinic, under the name of "Dr. Shah Muhammad Javed Surgical Clinic", which is located opposite to the General Post office. He has been missing since 10:30 pm, October 30, 2011. At the time he was in the company of his eleven year old son, Fahad Javed. They were returning to their home from their in laws' house which is about a five minute walk from their home. At 7:00 am on October 31, 2011 The Motorway Police called his clinic (as they found his visiting card from his car) and informed that his car Licence no: IDN 611 was parked near Dina, Jhelum,Punjab province. His family filed a report of an incident at the local Police Station in Kotli, Azad Kashmir. However, there is no clue about their whereabouts.

The police say that since he is from Ahmadiyya sect he has obviously been abducted by Muslim fundamentalists and it will be impossible to find him. A family member complained to the Asian Human Rights Commission that the police were showing the least possible interest to search for the father and son.

The car was found in Dina, Jehlum, more than 100 kilometers away from his home. The place is close to the area from where the body of a prominent journalist, Mr. Saleem Shazad's car was found after his abduction and disappearance in the month of May. The roads leading to Jehlum are all covered by law enforcement agencies as the area is one of the biggest Cantonment areas of Pakistan. At every 20 kilometers there are check posts of the military or police.

The family members fear that he would be killed along with his son if quick efforts were not adopted. No group has yet claimed his abduction but it is obvious that religious fundamentalist groups, including main stream political parties are driving strong movements to crush the Ahmadiyya sect as it is basically against their belief of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as the last prophet of Islam. Punjab province has become a strong hold of such fundamentalist groups who do not tolerate the Ahmadis, their mosques, their educational institutions and bar the students from the professional colleges. It is also alleged that the provincial government was also holding such conferences where the Ahmadis are declared as infidel and liable to be killed.

The government has proved to be incompetent before the pressure of the militant religious groups. They operate by their own laws and are a state within a state. Last year two mosques of the Ahmadiyya were attacked by the militant religious groups in which 84 persons from the sect were killed. Due to the appeasement attitude of the government target killings of Ahmadis continue.

The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the government to make ensure the safe recovery of the surgeon and his son and bring the abductors before the law. The silence of the government on the killings of its own citizens in the name of religion only goes to provide positive signals to the militant and sectarian organizations that they are free to carry out their nefarious designs.

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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

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