“Ahmadis Not Even Safe in Death”: Mass Desecration of Ahmadiyya Graves in Azad Kashmir amid Escalating Ramadan Persecution
Graves Desecrated in a Chilling Attack Before Dawn
Kotli, Azad Kashmir – 21 March 2025:
In a horrifying act of religious hatred, all 76 gravestones at the Ahmadiyya Muslim graveyard in Kotli City were desecrated by unidentified attackers in the early hours of 21 March. The assailants struck during Sehri (pre-dawn hours), deliberately exploiting an electricity blackout. The calculated nature of the attack underscores the vulnerability of a community that continues to face violent persecution—even in death. See video1.
1Link to video on social media: https://x.com/faith_defence/status/1903893371526988224?s=46&t=qJrK62IRsj8eXEilMTXPBA
Official Pressure and a Pattern of Escalation
Just three days earlier, on 18 March, a meeting convened by Deputy Commissioner Major (R) Nasir Rafique included top district officials and clerics. The Ahmadiyya delegation was pressured to alter their worship sites and graveyards to distinguish them from Muslim places of worship. Officials demanded visible signage, architectural changes, and the removal of gravestones resembling Islamic styles or containing Islamic terms—an instruction eerily echoed by the grave desecration that followed.
This appalling act reflects a broader, intensifying wave of persecution targeting the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan. Throughout Ramadan 2025, reports have emerged of raids on Ahmadi worship sites, arbitrary arrests, and growing social media incitement. The Kotli incident exemplifies how discriminatory directives from authorities can embolden extremist violence.
International Call to Action
We urge the international community, human rights defenders, and religious freedom advocates to condemn this act and hold Pakistan accountable. The state must:
- Investigate the desecration and bring perpetrators to justice.
- Stop pressuring religious minorities into altering their beliefs or identities.
- Guarantee full constitutional protections for the Ahmadiyya community.
The right to dignity and safety—both in life and in death—must be upheld for all.
