It is with great sadness that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat confirms that another member of its community, Retired Professor Muhammad Yusuf (aged 70) was killed earlier today by two masked gunmen in Lahore.
At around 7.30am, Professor Yusuf was tending his son’s grocery shop near his own home in Rachna Town when two masked persons drove up to the shop on motorbikes. They immediately fired two shots at Professor Yusuf and thereafter fled the scene.
Upon hearing the gunshots a son of Professor Yusuf came running to the grocery shop and found his father seriously wounded. The wounds were indeed fatal and Professor Yusuf died on route to the local hospital.
The Jamaat has faced a great deal of opposition in the Rachna Town area and this opposition has markedly increased in recent times. Banners are seen around the area stating that Ahmadis are ‘Wajibul Qatl’ that is that they ought to be killed. Further, a number of anti-Ahmadi rallies have taken place in the area inciting others to violently oppose and harass all Ahmadis. One such rally took place yesterday. A number of Ahmadis in the area had also faced death threats. Police have been made aware of all such incidents yet no action has been forthcoming.
Professor Yusuf was a greatly loved and well known personality of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. He is survived by his widow, four sons and one daughter.
The Press Secretary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Abid Khan said:
“The martyrdom of Professor Muhammad Yusuf grieves every single Ahmadi the world over. He was a gentle and loving elderly man. It is a grave reality that no Ahmadi – man, woman or child – is safe in Pakistan. A country founded on principles of tolerance and religious freedom has transformed into a country of hatred, extremism and cruelty of the highest order.
Last year 11 Ahmadis were killed in Pakistan for no other reason than that they belonged to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. This new year of 2010 is not even a week old and already the blood of another Ahmadi has been shed.
May God grant patience to the family and friends of the deceased at this time of great trial.”