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Lahore: A college teacher belonging to the Ahmadi minority community has been terminated following a large scale protest by students at a college in Pakistan’s Punjab province for being an Ahmadi, a statement from the community body said on Tuesday.
Syed Ahmad, who has been teaching for the last 11 years at the Superior College Sambrial at Sialkot, some 100 km from Lahore, was terminated on Monday as the protesting students held demonstrations at the boys’ and girls’ campuses – he taught at both the campuses – demanding his removal.
"When it was revealed a month ago that Ahmad is an Ahmadi, local clerics approached the college administration and demanded his removal forthwith. They also hurled threats at him," the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Pakistan (JAP) said in a statement.
“On Monday, the students held a demonstration in front of the principal's office for several hours demanding Ahmad’s removal for being an Ahmadi. They said they would not end their sit-in till the principal announced Ahmad’s termination as it was a sin to have them taught by an Ahmadi,” the statement said.
“Giving in to the pressure, the college principal told Ahmad the college administration can't afford unrest in the campuses (and) thus firing him,” it said.
The JAP said that discriminating against and harassing someone based on their beliefs is a severe violation of human rights and Pakistan's Constitution and the laws are clear on this matter.
According to Article 25 (1) of Pakistan’s Constitution, all citizens are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection.
Similarly, Article 27(1) states that no citizen who is otherwise qualified for a public appointment shall be discriminated against based on race, religion, caste, gender, residence, or place of birth.
In Pakistan, religious extremists are intensifying their hateful campaigns against Ahmadis, leading to increased harassment at workplaces and dismissals from jobs.
“Similarly, the public is being encouraged to boycott Ahmadi shopkeepers. The government needs to take immediate and effective action against these religious extremists and ensure the protection of Ahmadis,” JAP said.
Although Ahmadis consider themselves Muslims, Pakistan’s Parliament in 1974 declared the community as non-Muslims. A decade later, they were not just banned from calling themselves Muslims but were also barred from practicing aspects of Islam.