Pakistan's minority Ahmadi community today decided to boycott the forthcoming local body polls in Lahore and other districts of Punjab province to protest "religious discrimination" embedded in the provision of separate voting list for them.
Jamaat-i-Ahmadiyya (JA) will not partake in the local body elections, starting October 31, and being held in different phases after some eight years, Salimuddin, a spokesman of the organisation, said in a statement here.
"The separate voter lists for Ahmadis only on religious grounds is discriminatory and against the spirit of joint electorates," he said and expressed surprise that Muslims, Sikhs, Hindu, Jews and Christians are all included in one electoral roll and only Ahmadis are registered in a separate list.
JA has also written to the Election Commission of Pakistan that such discrimination not only makes them vulnerable to target killings but is also a burden on their conscience to vote on condition of denying to be the followers of Prophet Muhammad, the statement said.
"Ahmadis have to sign a declaration showing their disassociate with the Holy Prophet for registering themselves as a voter in it. This is something that no Ahmadi will accept," Salimuddin said.
In addition to it the guidance booklet issued by the Election Commission for its registration officers clearly mentions that Ahmadi votes will be entered separately in the Initial Electoral List and at the top of that register the notation 'For Ahmadis'.
"This discrimination is against the sayings of Quad-i-Azam Muhanmmad Ali Jinnah and contradicts the rights guaranteed in the Constitution of Pakistan. It is also against the spirit of joint electorate and in clear violation of the universal declaration of human rights.
"Therefore, we have decided to boycott the local polls," he said, adding that the eligibility of a voter must be determined on the basis of Pakistani citizenship and not on religion and caste.
The provision for separate voting list for Ahmadis was initiated by General Pervez Musharraf in 2002 after a constitutional amendment.
Pakistan is the home to the largest population of Ahmadis, who consider themselves Muslim but often face persecution.
They were declared non-Muslims through a constitutional amendment in 1974. A decade later, they were barred from proselytising or identifying themselves as Muslims.
