The Riots of 1953 — Page 6
6 that some lives were lost. The Ahrar said that those who were killed as a result of the firing had died an accursed death. 9 The Muslims were convinced that the Ahrar had conspired with the Sikhs and had b etrayed the Muslim cause. 10 In fact to call any one an Ahrari at that time was tantamount to abusing him. 8. Some letters written by the then General Secretary of the Majlis-i-Ahrar, Maulana Mazhar Ali Azhar and a statement issued by one of their workers, throw interesting light on the working of this party. Copies of these letters are attached to this statement as Appendix ‘A’. They would secretly introduce their confirmed members in the rival organizations. They would as an expedient measure join movements in order to foil them. Although their past history constitutes active participation in civil disobedience they were anxious that their party should not launch any such programme over the Shahid Ganj Mosque question. 11 A perusal of these letters exposes in the fullest measure the aspirations of the Ahrar and the method by which they seek to attain their object. The letters of M. Mazhar Ali Azhar conclusively establish the fact that Religion is only a convenient weapon in the hands of the Ahrar to gain political ends. 9. The Ahrar in fact never fully recovered from the shock. They soon became disillusioned in their hopes to succeed by stir- ring up hatred against the Ahmadiyya Community and openly allied themselves with the Congress in order to oppose the only representative organization of the Muslims the All India Muslim League. In their Conference held at Peshawar in 1939, Ch. Afzal Haq openly declared the object of his party to seize power. They 9 “Nai Roshni”, Karachi, 9. 7. 53. 10 Afaq, 19. 3. 53. 11 Tarikh Ahrar, P. 173.