Historic Mosque Built by former President of the United Nations General Assembly Demolished Amid Rising Extremism in Pakistan
A historic mosque in Daska, Pakistan, built by Sir Chaudhry Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, Pakistan’s first Foreign Minister, a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, who served as President of the International Court of Justice as well as the UN General Assembly, and has been completely demolished by extremists.
This alarming act underscores the growing influence of religious extremists in Pakistan, where law enforcement agencies and those responsible for upholding the Constitution appear to have surrendered to fundamentalist pressures. The demolition of this Mosque, constructed by Sir Choudhary Mohammad Zafarullah Khan and his family before the creation of Pakistan, exemplifies this troubling trend.
On the evening of 16 January 2025, Assistant Commissioner Maham Mushtaq of Daska arrived at the Mosque with government officials and police forces. Electricity in the area was deliberately cut off, and an operation was launched to demolish the Ahmadiyya place of worship. The authorities cordoned off both sides of the Mosque, and between 7 PM and 11 PM, the demolition took place. Worshippers present at the time objected, warning officials that they were overstepping legal boundaries. Shockingly, the crane operator responded with a threat, stating that he would crush them if they did not move.
Sir Chaudhry Muhammad Zafarullah Khan served as the President of the UN General Assembly and the President of International Court of Justice. He is the only person to date to serve as the President of both institutions.
Reports confirm that the Assistant Commissioner, using state machinery meant for public welfare, carried out the demolition under pressure from religious extremists. The act was accompanied by expressing anti-Ahmadiyya slogans, and, in a further display of intolerance, fundamentalists declared the day of destruction as a “golden day” and a cause for celebration, rather than the shameful violation of rights that it truly is. The violent act was caught on video[1], which was spread across social media.
This appalling incident highlights the deepening fanaticism of extremist groups, often with tacit support from authorities, and represents a grave violation of fundamental human rights. We urge the international community and defenders of religious freedom to strongly condemn this unlawful act.
The Government of Pakistan must be held accountable for its duty to protect the Ahmadiyya community, ensuring their right to life, freedom of worship, and security of their mosques and properties, in line with its constitutional and international human rights obligations.
Pakistan is legally obligated to protect religious freedom under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which it ratified in 2010. But Pakistan has repeatedly been judged as violating its treaty obligations; for example, independent NGO Amnesty International in 2024 “highlighted the escalating blasphemy-related violence across the country and the use of vague and coercive blasphemy laws.”
The IHRC appeals to Pakistani authorities to abide by the country’s international legal human rights obligations, and to halt persecution of the Ahmadi community and other minority groups, both by civil society extremists and by government officials themselves.
