These mass arrests took place last Friday when a mob of religious extremists gathered outside the place of worship, chanting inflammatory slogans.

In response to fears of potential violence, members of the Ahmadi community reached out to the police emergency line for assistance. However, instead of dispersing the threatening crowd, law enforcement officials arrested 22 Ahmadis, transported them to the City Police Station in Daska.

Following the arrests, extremists gathered outside the police station, demanding that criminal charges be filed against the detainees. Yielding to the pressure from these groups, authorities subsequently registered formal charges against the arrested Ahmadi citizens.

In a similar incident last week, 23 Ahmadis had criminal charges registered against them in the Sargodha district for gathering at a community space to offer Friday prayers.

Amir Mahmood, a spokesperson for the Ahmadi community in Pakistan, said the situation for the community has become “grave” and that they are being stopped from praying even within the boundaries of four walls.

Pakistan’s law bars Ahmadis from calling themselves Muslims, and extremist groups have relied on the legislation to justify attacks targeting the community. They vandalize Ahmadi worship places arguing that they look like mosques. Ahmadi tombstones carrying Islamic terms or titles are also often a target.

A judgement of the Supreme Court authored by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah in 2022 had asked the authorities not to stop Ahmadi citizens from practicing their faith within the four walls of their homes and worship places. 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 nine-page verdict, authored by SC judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah in 2022.

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In the statement, the spokesperson further noted that in most cases, it’s the police that carry out the desecration of Ahmadi graves. There has been a rise in incidents of vandalisation of Ahmadi worship places and graves in the past few months.

On Sept. 23, the Punjab police desecrated more than 70 tombstones of Ahmadis in Daska, Sialkot, in the wee hours.

On Sept. 26, Ahmadi worship places in Sheikhupura and Okara were vandalised in two separate attacks. Moreover, an Ahmadi superintendent of police (SP) faced threats from religious quarters in Mandi Bahauddin during that week. These incidents targeting the community continue to take place despite the Lahore High Court’s recent verdict that barred the police from demolishing Ahmadi worship places that were built before the passage of Ordinance XX in 1984. The ordinance, promulgated by military dictator Zia ul Haq, had made it a criminal offence for Ahmadis to use Islamic terms and titles or “pose as Muslims”. Religious extremists who demolish Ahmadi worship places cite this law to justify their actions, and the authorities often side with the attackers.

On August 21, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar mentioned Ahmadis along with other minorities during his speech condemning the Jaranwala incident where churches and Christian homes were burnt by a mob over blasphemy allegations. But since that speech, several Ahmadi worship places have been desecrated in Pakistan.

This year alone, there were 18 attacks on Ahmadi places of worship in the country. According to the community, the police either take part in the desecration or give a free hand to extremist individuals to attack the worship places.

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An event for #KashmirDay a cleric demanding deportation of #Ahmadis from Pakistan. That’s happening in the presence of a man in uniform sitting on stage pic.twitter.com/X284AelWa0

— Nasir Ahmad (@nasir9002) February 5, 2023

According to the reports, the two-year-old clip is of a cleric addressing an event organised to mark Kashmir Day.

The cleric calls Ahmadis “traitors” amid applause from the crowd.

He further asks the people gathered at the event to start a campaign against ‘Qadianis’ to remove them from government jobs.

He says there is no place for ‘Qadianis’ in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, human rights activists and International Human Rights Committee have condemned the remarks made in the video in the presence of police officials.

⚠️ INCIDENT REPORT

STATE AND NON-STATE ACTORS COLLABORATE TO INSTIGATE HATRED AGAINST AHMADIS: “Qadianis (Ahmadis) are traitors… they should be expelled from Pakistan”

⬇️ Full report pic.twitter.com/vxIR32pdPJ

— International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) (@IHumanRightsC) February 7, 2023

A video got viral on social media, a while ago, in which a person is declaring Ahmadis as traitors and asking the audience to start a campaign against
Ahmadis and audience including personals of law enforcing agencies were clapping.pic.twitter.com/jNxzkAyA1K

— International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) (@IHumanRightsC) February 7, 2023

The video resurfaces amid an increase in attacks against Ahmadi worship places.
A representative from the Ahmadi press section had shared a list of attacks on Ahmadi worship places this year with Dissent Today.

According to the list, police in Wazirabad destroyed the minarets of a worship place on January 10th; miscreants destroyed the minarets of a worship place in Karachi on January 18th. In a similar attack, minarets of a worship place in Saddar Karachi were also destroyed on February 2nd. Miscreants also set fire to two Ahmadi worship places in Umerkot and Mirpurkhas, respectively, on February 3rd.

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A representative from the Ahmadiyya community’s press section confirmed the news with Dissent Today.

احمدیوں کی عبادتگاہوں پر ایک اور حملہ
سیٹیلائٹ ٹاون میر پور خاص میں گذشتہ رات 4فروری ساڑھے آٹھ بجے نامعلوم فرد نے فائرنگ کی . جس کی گولیاں دروازے اور دیوار پر لگی ہیں۔اس وقت چند احمدی اندر موجود تھے@BBhuttoZardari @sindhpolicedmc8
احمدیوں کو تحفظ فراہم کریں@AAliZardari pic.twitter.com/GMymOZ00mc

— AmirMahmood (@IamAmirMahmood) February 5, 2023

There were a few people inside the worship place at the time of the incident.

Journalist Bilal Farooqi also urged the authorities to stop the “ugly trend of targeting Ahmadi ‘worship places'”.

On Saturday at 8pm in Satellite Town, Mirpurkhas, miscreants fired gunshots at an Ahmadi ‘worship place’. Bullets struck its gate & wall. There were few Ahmadi worshippers inside at the time. Ugly trend of targeting Ahmadi ‘worship places’ continues & authorities need to stop it pic.twitter.com/4fdoGxQfoA

— Bilal Farooqi (@bilalfqi) February 5, 2023

There has been an increase in attacks against Ahmadi worship places recently.

Another #Ahmadi place of worship shot at, the night of February 4 in Satellite Town, MirPur Khas, per #Ahmadiyya press office. Fourth attack at an Ahmadi place of worship in Feb 2023, and 6th of this year. 5 of this 6 attacks are in Sindh. @nchrofficial @mohrpakistan pic.twitter.com/CjeavvlDKW

— Rabia Mehmood – رابعہ (@Rabail26) February 5, 2023

Earlier, unknown miscreants vandalised a place of Ahmadi worship in Karachi, a video of which was widely circulated on social media. The video showed that the policemen deployed outside the site tried to keep away the miscreants but were unable to control the charged mob.

پریڈی اسٹریٹ تھانے کراچی میں احمدی ہم وطنوں کی عبادت گاہ کے مینار اور محرابیں توڑ دی گئیں۔ لاکھ لعنت ہے ان آئی ایم ایف والوں سے بھیک مانگنے والے مطالعہ پاکستان کے سوزاک میں مبتلا جاہلوں پر۔ pic.twitter.com/WalVQg99uO

— Wajahat Masood (@wajahatmasood) February 5, 2023

A representative from the Ahmadi press section also shared a list of attacks on Ahmadi worship places this year with Dissent Today.

According to the list, police in Wazirabad destroyed the minarets of a worship place on January 10th; miscreants destroyed the minarets of a worship place in Karachi on January 18th. In a similar attack, minarets of a worship place in Saddar Karachi were also destroyed on February 2nd. Miscreants also set fire to two Ahmadi worship places in Umerkot and Mirpurkhas, respectively, on February 3rd.

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