March 21, 2025
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
In the early hours of Friday, March 21, unidentified individuals entered a graveyard and began demolishing the headstones on Ahmadi graves. The incident took place in Kotli, Azad Kashmir, and 76 gravestones were demolished and desecrated. Incidents of religious intolerance have been happening since January but have considerably increased since the beginning of Ramzan. The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) an extreme, hard-liner religio-political party has been behind most of the incidents of intolerance towards the Ahmadis.
A local, on condition of anonymity due to a security risk, told Voicepk that the first the electricty of the area was cut off.
“It seems the authorities have been directly involved in letting this incident unfold, as the incident took place during the pre-dawn hours of fasting, coinciding with a power outage in the area,” he said. “Last Friday, they held a protest and created havoc with their allegations over Ahmadis saying they pray inside their places of worship and that it was a violation of the Constitution and legislation,” he said.
The cemetery, which has existed since before 1984 and is properly enclosed, was directly targeted. Prior to this, the TLP held a meeting with the district administration and the police where they demanded that the Ahmadi community should be stopped from offering Friday prayers, and observing Ramzan or any other ‘Islmaic traditions’ or to display any ‘Islamic symbols’ in their places of worship otherwise there would be unrest in the area. A group of eight TLP individuals signed an application last week and handed it in to the police also registering an FIR against some Ahmadi individuals in the police station for praying inside their worship place.
TTP has been getting increasingly active not just in AJK but across the country, especially in Punjab, including Sialkot, Sargodha, Multan and Faisalabad, where it has also created unrest before.
Last week an Ahmadi man was also attacked as he was sitting at his shop.
In the lead up to Ramzan, 22 Ahmadis were detained for gathering for Friday prayers in Daska, Sialkot. On the same day in Sargodha, 23 Ahmadis were charged for similar reasons under the anti-Ahmadi laws. As of now they are under pre-arrest bail but this decision has sparked controversy within the local community in the area.
On March 7, the first Friday of Ramzan, police launched a raid at an Ahmadi place of worship. Six Ahmadis were arrested on the spot and 25 others were charged. Within 24 hours, a violent mobs in Bahawalnaga’s village blocked roads and set tyres ablaze, demanding the demolition of an Ahmadi place of worship.
Area admin & TLP holds meeting with Ahmadi community
This happened in spite of a meeting held on Wednesday, with the representatives of TLP and Ahmadiyya community, under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Kotli, Major (R) Nasir Rafique, in which the Superintendent of Police District Kotli Adeel Ahmed Langrial, Assistant Commissioner Kotli Waleed Ahmed, Revenue Officer Qaiser Aslam, Tehsil Mufti Habibullah and others were also present.
During the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner clarified that under the laws of the independent state of Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), all religions have the freedom to thrive according to their beliefs, however, some legal requirements were also ‘attached to this freedom’.
The state has the responsibility to ensure the rights and protection of every religious group, but no party can be allowed to interfere in the affairs of other religions, he said. Maintaining religious harmony was the common responsibility of all and any activity that could hurt social or religious sentiments would not be allowed. Since under laws of the State, the use of Islamic terminology and symbols of Islam were reserved ‘for Muslims only’, any violation in this regard would be stopped.
The Deputy Commissioner directed the representatives of the Ahmadi community to clearly install signboards of ‘Qadiani Worship Place’ outside their places of worship and also their graveyards, so that no misunderstanding arose. Furthermore, if the construction of their places of worship resembled any Islamic mosques, this would have to be demolished, including minarets.
In addition, out of respect for the sentiments of Muslims, the Ahmadi community had been instructed to offer their prayers at least one hour after the prayers of the Muslim community so as to avoid any conflict or misunderstanding, he added.
“It should be ensured that the graveyards of the community are clearly separated from the graveyards of Muslims and there is no sign or inscription that resembles Islamic terminology,” he said.
The Deputy Commissioner clarified that the Ahmadi community would not be allowed to engage in any kind of ‘propaganda’.
“The use of Islamic terminology and rituals cannot be allowed to hurt religious sentiments of others, and in order to maintain interfaith harmony,” he said. “If any violation is observed in this regard, legal action would be taken.”
Superintendent of Police District Kotli Adeel Ahmed Langrial backed what the DC had said during the meeting.
During the meeting, representatives of the Ahmadiyya community expressed their concerns over various issues, for example the hate targeted at government teachers and social media, adding that teachers from the Ahmadi community had been facing harassment and discrimination, while in general the community was receiving threats and being intimidated.
The complaints were noted down by the Deputy Commissioner. The Ahmadi community said theu would need time to implement the orders by the authorities, at least till Monday (March 16). However on Friday once again, despite the DC promising to take action against those threatening the community, the attack on the Ahmadi graves still took place.
Case filed in Kotli
Despite the series of attacks and incidents of religious intolerance, the government at provincial or federal level have not taken notice, neither have they provided any security to the Ahmadiyya community.
“Instead of protecting us, they have actually bowed down in front of the TLP, an extremist group,” says a representative of the Ahmadi community. “We have remained peaceful but we are the ones being harassed. Instead of explaining to the radical elements creating issues in society, the authorities choose to convince us to change the timing of our prayers, or to have fewer people in our congregation.”
Not allowing any religious group to practice their faith freely is a direct violation of Pakistan’s constitution. However no authorities have taken note.
Meanwhile, spokesperson of the Ahmadiyya community, Amir Mehmood said that the authorities must make solid efforts in moving against radical and extremist elements to ensure peace.
Law enforcement authorities have also registered a case under Section 297 at the City Police Station in Kotli, against the unknown perpetrators on the complaint of an individual from the Ahmadii community.
Section 297 of the Pakistan Penal Code, deals with trespassing on burial places, places of worship, or places set apart for funeral rites, with the intention of wounding feelings or insulting religion, punishable with imprisonment, fine, or both.
This incident has followed a similar incident in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, where 31 Ahmadi graves were desecrated earlier.
This marks the eighth such incident in 2025 alone, bringing the total number of desecrated Ahmadi gravestones to 169 – only within the first three months of this year. The recurrence of such acts highlights the growing challenge of religious intolerance and extremism.
“With only 10 days left of Ramzan, and with extremists threatening further attacks, the rest of the holy month remains deeply concerning,” says Mehmood. “The mass arrests and destruction of places of worship witnessed so far signal an alarming trajectory—one that not only endangers Ahmadis in the country but also undermines fundamental human rights principles and the rule of law.”
Representing the community, Mehmood urged the authorities to take decisive action to bring the perpetrators of these heinous acts to justice.
Other incidents
On March 21, two other cases were also registered at the Islampura (previously Krishn Nagar) and Raiwind City police stations in Lahore, against dozens of Ahmadis for offering Friday prayers. Meanwhile, extremist elements in various parts of Punjab also continued to harass Ahmadis visiting their places of worship.
On the same day, an Ahmadi individual was subjected to violence by extremists in Aminpur Bazaar, Faisalabad, as he arrived for Friday prayers. Additionally, attempts were made to surround Ahmadi places of worship in Kartarpur (Faisalabad), Naseera (Gujrat district), Piro Chak (Sialkot district), and other locations.
Over the past month, extremist elements have attempted to prevent Ahmadis from offering Friday prayers in at least 33 different locations, and authorities have closed down eight Ahmadi places of worship following demands from these groups.