A judgement of the Supreme Court authored by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah last year had asked the authorities not to stop Ahmadi citizens from practicing their faith within the four walls of their homes and worship places, but the police raided Ahmadi homes in Faisalabad and confiscated their sacrificial animals this Eid al Azha. The SC had held that the act of depriving non-Muslims of holding their religious beliefs was “against the grain of our democratic Constitution”.
“To deprive a non-Muslim (minority) of our country from holding his religious beliefs, to obstruct him from professing and practicing his religion within the four walls of his place of worship is against the grain of our democratic Constitution and repugnant to the spirit and character of our Islamic Republic,” stated a powerful nine-page verdict, authored by SC judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah in 2022. The judge was presiding over a division bench hearing a petition against the offence of blasphemy on Ahmadi individuals.
This SC judgement had overturned an earlier verdict of the Lahore High Court (LHC) which had supported the charges of blasphemy against members of the Ahmadi community over a complaint that they had kept their place of worship as a mosque and displayed Islamic symbols on its inner walls.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah had further stated that for an offence to fall under Section 295-B, “the accused must have defiled, damaged or desecrated a copy of the Holy Quran or its extract or use it in a derogatory manner or for any unlawful purpose”.
But these orders of the top court were flouted by police authorities in Punjab who raided homes of Ahmadi citizens after receiving complaints from workers and supporters of extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). Several Ahmadi citizens were reportedly harassed across the country on Eid al Azha by extremist individuals who wanted to make sure Ahmadis do not perform the ritual sacrifice.
Raids in Faisalabad
At least three houses belonging to members of the Ahmadi community were raided by the police in Faisalabad on Eid al Azha following complaints by workers of extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), and the policemen confiscated sacrificial animals present inside the houses.
Ahead of Eid, police authorities in Punjab had vowed strict action against Ahmadi citizens found offering the ritual sacrifice, amid threats to the marginalised community by extremist groups. The first day of Eid al Azha was marked on June 29 in Pakistan.
A spokesperson for the Ahmadi community told Dissent Today that extremist individuals kept peeking inside houses of Ahmadi residents in Faisalabad to see if they were slaughtering sacrificial animals. Sacrificial goats and cows were seized by the police in raids conducted on complaints of extremist individuals.
