Even in Death, Ahmadi Muslims Are Not Free: Extremists Desecrate Graves in Rhoda, Punjab, Pakistan
An Unforgivable Act of Religious Hatred and State Complicity, Carried Out While Pakistan Fights Its Own War
The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) strongly condemns the desecration of over 90 Ahmadi Muslim graves in Rhoda, Tehsil and District Khushab, Punjab, Pakistan—a shameful act of religious hatred, carried out under the shadow of state complicity and silence.
Incident Details
On the night of May 9, 2025, extremists targeted an Ahmadiyya Muslim graveyard in Rhoda, deliberately destroying nearly 100 gravestones, most of which bore Islamic inscriptions and Qur’anic verses. When local Ahmadi Muslims visited the graveyard the following morning on May 10, they discovered the desecration and damage.
Reports from the community indicate that prior to the destruction, police had pressured the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to remove the gravestones themselves—an order the community rightfully refused. Not long after, the gravestones were demolished, suggesting either tacit approval or direct support from local authorities.
This grave desecration is not an isolated incident. It is part of an ongoing, state-enabled campaign to erase Ahmadi Muslim identity, even in death. Grave desecrations targeting Ahmadis have been increasing across Pakistan, particularly in Punjab, where clerics and police collaborate to erase Islamic markings and remove headstones under the pretext that Ahmadis are “not Muslims”—a claim enshrined in Pakistan’s discriminatory 1974 constitutional amendment and enforced through Ordinance XX.
Link to video on social media: https://x.com/faith_defence/status/1921662106295800141
Human Rights and Legal Violations
This act violates numerous domestic and international legal standards, including:
- Article 20 of the Constitution of Pakistan – guaranteeing freedom of religion.
- Article 25 – assuring equality of all citizens before the law.
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) – particularly:
- Article 18 – protecting freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.
- Article 27 – safeguarding the rights of religious minorities to enjoy their culture and practice their religion.
Grave desecration is not just an attack on the dead—it is an attack on a community’s dignity, memory, and existence.
Call to Action
The IHRC calls upon:
- The Government of Pakistan to launch an immediate and transparent investigation into this desecration and bring the perpetrators to justice.
- Law enforcement agencies to cease coercive actions against Ahmadis and uphold their constitutional rights.
- The international community and United Nations to urgently monitor the ongoing persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan.
- Pakistan’s judiciary and human rights institutions to hold accountable those responsible for enabling or committing these acts.
Conclusion
The systematic targeting of Ahmadi Muslims must end. Even in death, minorities deserve dignity and respect. This brutal desecration of graves in Rhoda is a heinous act of religious apartheid. Silence from state institutions only fuels more hate.
We stand in solidarity with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and urge all stakeholders to act decisively against such barbarity.
