Ahmadi doctor shot dead in Pakistan's Peshawar

A homeopathic doctor, belonging to the Ahmadi community, was shot dead on Thursday in Peshawar's Bazidkhel area, Dawn reported citing police as saying.

A police spokesperson identified the slain man as Abdul Qadir who was shot dead by an accused identified as Ihsanullah, 18.

According to Dawn, the locals overpowered Ihsanullah at the scene and handed him over to the police.

Meanwhile, Inqilab police has registered an FIR and investigation is underway.

However, Ahmadis, a four million-strong minority group in Pakistan, have been facing death threats, intimidation and a sustained hate campaign for decades.

Last year, a 168-page report by the UK-based All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Ahmadi Muslim Community had revealed details about the discrimination the Ahmadi community has been facing in Pakistan.

The report titled "Suffocation of the Faithful - the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan and the rise of International Extremism" categorically says that persecution against the peace-loving community intensified following the partition of the Indian subcontinent and the formation of Pakistan.

"This culminated in the events of 1974 when Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto turned the anti-Ahmadi movement into fully-fledged state-sponsored persecution. He enacted a 1974 Constitutional Amendment specifically targeting Ahmadi Muslims, declaring them 'not Muslims for purposes of law and constitution'. It was a watershed moment in Pakistan's history", said the report.

( With inputs from ANI )

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