The Riots of 1953 — Page 30
30 their faith are given in Appendices “F”, “G” & “H”. 36. In Lahore this agitation took a very ugly form. Proces- sions were taken out and the processionists shouted the most filthy abuse and slogans against the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Community and its present leaders. Threats were shouted to the members of the Ahmadiyya Community to the effect that they would be massacred, their property looted and their women folk abducted. Alarming reports of impending danger were received from all quarters of the city. During the 48 hours preceding the promulgation of Martial Law local Ahmadis constantly rang up 2301 , the residence number of the local Amir of the Jamaat, for help. These calls led to an attempt on the part of th o se who re- ceived the telephonic messages to contact the relative police sta- tions for s ecuring these Ahmadis some measure of protection. The load on this number could be assessed by the fact that the bill for local calls for the period came to Rs. 162/12/-. All these efforts bore no fruit. No help was available from any quarter. 37. The Police Officials had been compiling lists of all the Ahmadis residing in Lahore within the jurisdiction of police sta- tions apparently to create an impression that they were doing so in order to protect their lives , honour and properties but these very lists seem to have been utilised by the rioters for singling out the residences of Ahmadis for arson, loot and murder. While passions were at their height and law and order had been reduced to a nullity in Lahore during the first week of March 1953 some thousands of Muslims under the leadership of Maulana Abdus Sattar Niazi (now a convict in the Central Jail Lahore) entrenched themselves in the Wazir Khan Mosque, w here-from processions used to emerge and roam about in different parts of Lahore. On the evening of the 5th and the morning of the 6th a proclamation was broadcast on the authority of the Provincial Government that