Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan and Urgent Human Rights Demands
In recent years, particularly escalating sharply within the last twelve months, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan has faced unprecedented persecution characterized by systematic violence, discriminatory apartheid practices, and a silent genocide orchestrated by extremist factions, notably Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), with complicit support from governmental structures. The Pakistani state, through discriminatory laws embedded in its constitution since 1974, and further institutionalized under General Zia-ul-Haq through sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code, has actively marginalized Ahmadis, stripping them of fundamental human rights and freedoms.
In the past year alone, the Ahmadiyya community has witnessed numerous devastating acts, including:
- January 16, 2025: Demolition of a historic 100-year-old mosque in Daska under TLP pressure.
- February 14, 2025: Mosque sealed in Malir, Karachi; two Ahmadis arrested.
- February 28, 2025: Mass arrests in Sargodha and Daska, including minors and disabled persons.
- March 7, 2025: Mosque closure in Karachi led to six arrests and 25 charged.
- March 11, 2025: Minarets destroyed in Bahawalnagar.
- March 14, 2025: Twenty-nine Ahmadis arrested in Tharo Mandi, Pasrur, for offering prayers.
- March 19, 2025: Mosque security dismantled in Talagang under mob threat.
- March 21, 2025: Desecration of 76 Ahmadi graves in Kotli, Azad Kashmir, followed by an additional six graves destroyed in June, totaling 82 graves desecrated.
- March 28, 2025: Mob besieged mosque in Ralioke, Sialkot, during Ramadan prayers; six detained.
- March 31, 2025: Violent attacks during Eid celebrations in Azizabad, Karachi, where mosques were vandalized, sealed by authorities under TLP demands, and hateful messages inscribed publicly.
Killings of Ahmadis between April & May 2025:
- April 18, 2025: Laiq Ahmed Cheema, father of seven, beaten to death on his way to Friday prayers in a high-security area in Karachi.
- April 24, 2025: Muhammad Asif, a 19-year-old student, shot dead by extremists in Kasur while riding his bike.
- May 11, 2025: Tahir Mahmood, aged 71, died in Karachi Prison after being imprisoned for offering Friday prayers; denied medical care, beaten, and tortured.
- May 15, 2025: Sheikh Mahmood, a 58-year-old gastroenterologist, assassinated by a disguised assailant in his hospital in Sargodha.
Such acts represent only a fraction of the persecution faced by Ahmadis. The systematic pattern of violence, societal exclusion, and state-sanctioned discrimination has created an environment of perpetual fear and trauma, effectively curtailing the community’s right to life, religious freedom, dignity, and equality.
Given this context of severe human rights abuses, the International Human Rights Committee (IHRC), alongside global human rights advocates, urgently demands the Government of Pakistan to address the ongoing persecution through immediate and concrete actions:
Demands:
- Equal Citizenship Rights:
- Immediately grant full and equal citizenship rights to Ahmadis, including voting rights, ensuring their freedom to practice their faith without fear of persecution, political disenfranchisement, or violence.
- Ban Extremist Organizations:
- Immediately ban Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and other extremist groups actively involved in hate crimes, targeted killings, desecration of Ahmadi mosques, and destruction of graves.
- Implement stringent measures to end all acts of violence, desecrations and vandalism perpetrated by these groups.
- Adherence to International Human Rights Obligations:
- Fulfill obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), protecting religious minorities, guaranteeing their safety, dignity, and religious freedom.
- Ensure immediate release of all Ahmadis unjustly imprisoned for practicing their faith.
- Lift Publication Bans:
- Immediately rescind the ban on Ahmadiyya Muslim literature and publications, allowing free distribution and access as part of their religious and cultural rights.
- Restitution of Nationalized Institutions:
- Fulfill longstanding governmental commitments by returning all institutions nationalized since 1974 to the Ahmadiyya community, restoring their rightful ownership and management.
Conclusion:
The international community, human rights organizations, and conscientious global citizens are urged to recognize, condemn, and demand immediate corrective actions against the severe, systematic persecution faced by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan. Only through decisive and immediate intervention can these abuses be halted, and the community’s fundamental human rights restored.
