CHAKWAL: Ahmadi and Muslims residents of the Dulmial village have signed a ‘peace accord’, which may now be under threat from hawks within and outside the village hoping to sabotage the reconciliation.

The village was thrown into turmoil on Dec 12 last year, after a mob of nearly 3,000 people attacked an Ahmadi place of worship. A young Muslim man from the neighbouring Tatral village shot and killed in the incident, and an older Ahmadi man died of cardiac arrest. Four Ahmadis and 57 Muslims who were arrested after the attack remain in prison, and police personnel are still deployed in the village.

The fallout from the violence has continued in the months after the attack. But the Ahmadi and Muslim communities have decided to resolve the matter through reconciliation, as many members of both communities are from the same tribe and even blood relatives.

A copy of the initial accord, which is available with Dawn, was authored a few days ago between representatives of both communities.

According to the accord, a Dulmial Peace Committee – made up of 10 members from the Ahmadi community and 10 from the Muslim community — has been established, and is being co-chaired by former Choa Saidan Shah tehsil nazim Malik Hafeezur Rehman and retired Col Farooq Malik. The committee has been tasked with finalising the reconciliation process.

Most of the Muslim representatives in the committee and their chairman, Mr Rehman, are currently in prison.

The accord, which has been signed by all 20 representatives, has blamed the Dec 12 attack on “outsiders”, and states that the “Ahmadia Darul Zikr Dulmial is under the possession and use of Jamaat-i-Ahmadia for a long time”.

“On December 12, 2006 some external irritants attacked the Darul Zikr by exploiting the feelings of the villagers and destroyed the shops and other goods associated with Darul Zikr after putting the lives of Ahmadis at risk,” the accord states. It adds that Dulmial’s residents were upset and panicked by the incident, and condemn it.

The accord says that Dulmial is a historic village and its natives trace their lineage to one forefather, and they have been living together with peace and love. The committee has said the matter should be resolved peacefully, as this is the only way to bring peace and friendliness back to the village.

The committee has agreed to leave the matter of the disputed place of worship at the government and the court’s disposal, and resolved to accept their decisions.

According to the accord, both groups have been made responsible for the immediate acquittal of those facing trial for the incident, and the committee has decided to contact the heirs of Naeem Shafique – the Tatral Kahoon resident who was killed during the attack – for reconciliation.

Sources told Dawn that hawkish elements, including hardline clerics and some Dulmial residents who were not involved in the attack, are trying to sabotage the agreement.A committee member claimed efforts are underway to convince Shafique’s heirs to refuse a reconciliation.

The issue has become so sensitive that those attempting to resolve it are unwilling to come forward.

When former district nazim and PML-N leader Sardar Ghulam Abbas attempted to resolve the issue, he was labelled an ‘Ahmadi supporter’ by local clerics and an Urdu daily. Mr Abbas, who holds the majority of voters in the Dulmial union council, then publicly distanced himself from the reconciliatory process.

Now, a retired bureaucrat and a local influential figure are trying to resolve the matter.

“This village has produced a number of army generals and bureaucrats, but its dilemma is that its brilliant sons have abandoned the village during these trying times, and the village has been left to the mercy of outsiders,” a villager said.

“We are going through the toughest times, but resolutions against the Ahmadis of Dulmial are being passed in Talagang where extremist clerics hold sway,” another Dulmial resident said.

An Ahmadi resident told Dawn the ball is now in the court of the Muslims, and it is up to them to convince Shafique’s heirs to agree to a reconciliation.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2017