March 7, 2025
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
In yet another assault on the Ahmadiyya community’s fundamental right to practice their faith, Karachi’s Surjani Town police, on Friday March 7, took into custody the Ahmadis gathered at a prayer center, including two women, and eight minors over allegations that they were offering prayers inside their place of worship. A case was filed against six individuals.
Ahmadi community leaders told Voicepk that the incident happened after the police was pressured to do so by extremists from the religio-political Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).
This is the second such incident in Karachi in the past two weeks, where a place of worship was sealed because of mob pressure from TLP. Locals say that in both the incidents – the first one taking place in Malir – the circumstances have been the same, with the TLP activists first surrounding the place of worship and creating an uproar.
Violation of international laws
Preventing any community, including the Ahmadis, from performing their religious duties is a clear violation of Article 20 of the Constitution of Pakistan (which guarantees religious freedom for all citizens of Pakistan) as well as Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the ICCPR.
N* who is a local community leader spoke to Voicepk about the incident and described the situation.
“At first an angry mob surrounded the Ahmadiyya place of worship; when the police and Rangers reached the spot, the mob leaders forced them to drag those who had gathered inside.”
N said that after the community members were taken to the police station, the mob followed them and surrounded the police station as well, demanding that a case be registered against those detained. Thereafter the police registered a case against six individuals, under Sections 298-C (criminalizing Ahmadi practices), and Section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
Previous incidents
On March 1, just a day before Ramzan, a similar case was filed against 22 Ahmadis from Daska, District Sialkot, who had gathered inside their ibadatgah on a Friday. Like the incident on March 7 in Karachi, the Ahmadi prayer center in Daska was also surrounded by dozens of TLP extremists shouting provocative slogans.
When the Ahmadi community called the police on 15 for help instead of providing protection to them, the police carried out a crackdown and took them into custody, detaining them at the Daska City police station. Even after the arrests were made, the TLP goons kept chanting slogans outside the station.
Prior to this, an Ahmadi ibadatgah was sealed by the police at the behest of TLP.
On February 14, authorities in Karachi sealed the Ahmadi place of worship, Bait-ul-Nasir, located in Malir Colony following demands from 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.
“Although we are discriminated against by other groups as well, TLP’s moves against us are always violent,” said N. “We have been trying to approach the authorities as much as we can, but there is really no support from there. We are in contact with the police higher ups, including the DIG West. While the police keep reassuring as that they are there for our safety, at the end of the day they bend their knees under pressure by the TLP.”
According to West Zone Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Irfan Ali Baloch, those detained were actually taken into ‘protective custody’.
He told media that the several TLP activists had gathered outside the Ahmadi place of worship and demanded the Ahmadis be prevented from offering Friday prayers and using symbols of Islam. In anticipation of a potential disruption to public order, the police took the Ahmadis into protective custody.
Meanwhile the Ahmadi community spokesperson Amir Mahmood expressed regret over the illegal arrest and detention of peaceful community members. He condemned the registration of a baseless case and the illegal locking of the place of worship.
“Our community is being denied their basic right of assembly and to practice their beliefs by preventing them from performing their religious duties. The spokesperson said that such increasingly aggressive actions by an extremist group and extra-legal actions against patriotic Ahmadis on the demands of registering baseless cases are causing a stir. It is clear that the series of unjust demands of extremists is not going to stop anywhere. Responsible state authorities should ensure the human rights of Pakistani Ahmadis.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
A recent report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) highlights a surge in attacks on minorities, with a specific focus on the Ahmadi community. This escalation includes arbitrary detentions and the desecration of their graves.
The report, titled ‘Under Siege: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2023-24’, documented over 750 individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges as of October 2024, and recorded at least four faith-based killings, three of which targeted Ahmadis. The report also noted an increasing trend of blasphemy laws being weaponized against Ahmadis, with law enforcement officials frequently initiating these cases. Specifically, four First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed by Punjab police officers against Ahmadis, indicating institutional bias. Mass arrests of Ahmadis under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO) were conducted by authorities in Punjab and Sindh, resulting in the detention of 36 individuals for observing Eidul Azha.
The HRCP report further pointed to the growing influence of extremist groups in shaping state policies against Ahmadis. It detailed how members of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) were involved in filing blasphemy cases, organizing campaigns to prevent Ahmadis from celebrating Eidul Azha, and participating in police raids to confiscate sacrificial meat. Social media videos corroborated these claims, showing TLP activists alongside law enforcement during raids on Ahmadi households, suggesting state complicity in religious persecution.
The desecration of Ahmadi graves continues to be a persistent violation, with numerous Ahmadi cemeteries attacked across Punjab and Sindh in 2023 and 2024, and in some instances, police and district authorities were involved. The report documented 42 attacks on Ahmadi places of worship, with nearly 60 percent of these attacks conducted or supervised by law enforcement agencies.