Lantos Commission: Are Ahmadis Allowed to Vote in Pakistan?

In 2002, when President Musharraf re-established a joint electorate, he agreed to the demands of Muslim scholars and issued Presidential Order Number 15. Under this order Ahmadi voters, both Qadiani and Lahori, were to be listed on a supplemental register. This step was taken in light of the historical political activity of the Qadiani Ahmadiyya: trying to engineer autonomy in Kashmir and Baluchistan, a state-within-a-state in Chenab Nagar (then Rabwah) and detrimental interference on behalf of the PPP in the 1970 elections.

Prima facie, this order is against the spirit of a joint electorate. The order was created in haste and although it patched the problem, it did not solve it.

Please see this video about how the Qadiani Ahmadiyya is asking the United States to pressurise Pakistan. Testifying in front of the Lantos Commission, they are asking for it to be tabled as one of the strategic issues in discussions with Pakistan.

You can also see in this video the extreme exaggeration about their numbers. The danger is that the Qadiani leadership do not become a hidden hand behind politicians and the political system and what has happened in past elections (e.g. 1970) should happen again. As the Pakistani electoral system is not as mature as Western systems in the transparency of donations and support to politicians and parties, we humbly suggest that:

As Articles 51 and 26 of the Pakistan Constitution imply direct elections for minority seats instead of back-room appointments by parties, implementing these provisions will solve both issues: direct elections to minority seats whose constituency will be the entire country. If the Qadiani Ahmadiyya fully participate in the elections, it will strengthen democracy. And if the Qadiani Ahmadiyya do not nominate a candidate for a minority seat, it will be clear that they do not want to participate in the electoral process in order to hide their real numbers. And if they do nominate a candidate, then the numbers of votes for this candidate will be out in the clear.

In this way, the complaint of the Ahmadis will be addressed and we will also find out whether their electoral boycott was mere propaganda.