February 20, 2025
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
The Ahmadi community in Karachi have demanded the immediate unsealing of their place of worship ‘Bait-ul-Nasir’ to be immediately reopened and restored to its previous function as a place of worship. They added that the government must ensure that the Ahmadi community is provided safety and freedom to exercise their faith.
On February 14, authorities in Karachi sealed an Ahmadi place of worship, Bait-ul-Nasir, located in Malir Colony following demands from an extremist mob linked with the religio-political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). The closure occurred without any legal justification or official order, marking yet another instance of violating the rights of religious freedom of the Ahmadiyya community.
The incident unfolded as the group of radicals gathered outside Bait-ul-Nasir, shortly before Friday prayers, recording videos of the building and harassing the the worshippers.
“These [slur] Ahmadis admitted to offering Friday prayers inside,” said the TLP cleric who was present on the scene.
When the local Ahmadis did not engage, the mob began chanting anti-Ahmadi slogans – causing harassment to the worshippers – and inciting violence. Instead of protecting the community, police intervention resulted in the shutdown of the place of worship, according to reports.
TLP leader inciting violence, threats to Ahmadi worshippers
Police response
After the police were called to the scene the officers entered the place of worship under the pretext of maintaining public order, the report alleges. The mob demanded that police prevent Ahmadis from praying and force them out.
Inside, police reportedly engaged in discussions with the agitators, from a religio-poltwho insisted that Ahmadis not be allowed to pray at the site. When community representatives informed the Station House Officer (SHO) that the place of worship had been in use for over 40 years and was registered with the local police, the SHO dismissed their claims and verbally ordered an end to prayers, without providing any written directive, the report claims.
Police then confiscated the recording devices of the agitators and left. Shortly after, Rangers arrived, but after police assured them the situation was under control, they departed.
Sealing of Bait-ul-Nasir
Despite the absence of a formal legal order, law enforcement authorities sealed Bait-ul-Nasir later that day, a move described as outside the bounds of legal due process.
Speaking to Voicepk, an Ahmadiyya local N, says that these threats have all been there in the background since a long time.
“We have been experiencing threats and intimidation from TLP since as far back as 2002,” says N. “They just start to collect outside our places of worship and raise threats. Then they make sure the place is either sealed or demolished. A few months ago they made the police to seal our place of worship in Baldia Town.”
N says that there were attacks previously on their places of worship in Martin Quarters, Dastagir, Drigh Road and Saddar, yet the authorities did nothing to ensure that such incidents do not take place in future. It is not just threats and action taken against Ahmadiyya ibadatgahs, even individuals have been threatened.
“There have been FIRs registered against three of our people since Friday,” he said. “Even a lawyer of ours was imprisoned only because his name had ‘Syed’ in it.”
Meanwhile K who was at the scene on Friday told Voicepk saying that the threats on this particular ibadatgah began since January.
“Every week on Friday two or three men arrived at the place of worship and started taking pictures and videos of people going in and coming out,” he says. “We began to feel extremely uneasy and threatened by them and countless times I went to the police station to report, but while they gave us assurances of protection, we did not receive the protection we wanted and needed.”
The police, he said, came a couple of times and parked outside the ibadatgah during Friday prayers. At that time no threatening individual appeared. Last Friday, though, the police was late to arrive and the TLP activists came first, gathering quickly.
“I immediately slipped out to the police station to report, and they sent their mobiles, but they were slow to arrive; by that time the crowd had gathered and begun chanting slogans,” he said. “At some point, the SHO also entered the house of worship to talk to those who were trapped inside, however he made the mistake of inviting TLP people also, who barged inside and began filming everything. They also pressured people inside to ‘confess’ to having Friday prayers, etc, which they then chanted against afterwards, using bad language, and threatening them if they ever collected here again,” he said.
The cleric, Kashif Rizvi, Amir of TLP Malir, shouted this exact threat in the video made of him. A police officer can also be seen next to him.
“The police is complicit in these acts,” says K. “We have repeatedly reached out to them for help, but this is all we get at the end of the day.”
On ground reports reveal that in the following days, extremist groups amplified anti-Ahmadi rhetoric on social media, further fueling hostility. Protesters also gathered outside the Khokhrapar police station, pressuring authorities for additional action. Anti-Ahmadi groups, emboldened by the perceived lack of accountability, extended their demands, calling for the closure of other Ahmadi places of worship in Korangi.
Legal protection for Ahmadi places of worship
The Ahmadiyya community have repeatedly sought guarantees from the Pakistani government that their places of worship be protected from attacks and unlawful closures. A suo moto judgement taken in 2014 by then CJP Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, also directed that the government of each province must provide protection to places of worship of all minorities. However little has been done to ensure their safety.
For now the community demands that law enforcement agencies must stop taking actions against them that are outside the bounds of the law, such as the sealing of Bait-ul-Nasir, without a legal order. They have also demanded the government hold those responsible for the attacks and the illegal sealing of the place of worship accountable for their actions.
Legal and Human Rights Violations
The sealing of the Ahmadiyya ibadatgah is a reported violation of fundamental human rights and constitutional protections. However the increasing trend of state institutions succumbing to extremist pressure is becoming more and more apparent.
The right to worship is protected under Article 20 of Pakistan’s Constitution, yet Ahmadis are reportedly consistently denied this freedom. The place of worship was sealed without any formal order, bypassing legal and judicial processes. Meanwhile instead of protecting a vulnerable religious minority, law enforcement allegedly facilitated their persecution. The failure to hold perpetrators accountable has reportedly emboldened extremist groups, increasing threats against other Ahmadi places of worship. the community wants international human rights organizations to urgently monitor and document increasing violations against religious minorities in Pakistan. Diplomatic stakeholders and foreign governments to raise this issue with Pakistani authorities and demand accountability for human rights abuses.