IHRC Condemns the Continued Institutionalisation of Anti-Ahmadi Hatred in Pakistan
Children Indoctrinated with Sectarian Ideology as Police Interfere with Ahmadi Funeral and Mourning Arrangements
The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) expresses grave concern over two recent developments in Pakistan that demonstrate the continuing institutionalisation and normalisation of anti-Ahmadi hatred. The incidents highlight how intolerance towards the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is cultivated from childhood and continues to manifest throughout every stage of an Ahmadi’s life—including after death.
The first incident involves the public indoctrination of children with sectarian ideology centred on Khatme Nabuwwat, while the second concerns police interference in the funeral and mourning arrangements of deceased Ahmadis in Badin, Sindh, reportedly following pressure from extremist clerics.
Taken together, these incidents illustrate how discrimination against Ahmadis extends far beyond isolated acts of violence and is instead sustained by organised hate campaigns, religious extremism and the failure of the authorities to uphold fundamental human rights.
Children Taught Sectarian Hatred
IHRC has reviewed footage showing children participating in a gathering where they collectively recite vows declaring their willingness to “give their lives” for Khatme Nabuwwat.
While children should be encouraged to develop values of peace, tolerance and mutual respect, this type of ideological instruction promotes an exclusionary narrative that has long been used by extremist groups to justify hostility, discrimination and violence against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
The rhetoric surrounding Khatme Nabuwwat has repeatedly accompanied campaigns demanding the closure of Ahmadi mosques, criminal prosecutions under Pakistan’s discriminatory blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws, economic boycotts, grave desecrations and targeted killings.
Teaching such narratives to children risks perpetuating intolerance across generations and contributes to an environment in which religious persecution becomes normalised.
Evidence: https://x.com/faith_defence/status/2066808561343103244
Police Interfere with Ahmadi Funeral and Mourning Arrangements
IHRC has also received disturbing reports from Badin District, Sindh, concerning two separate incidents in recent weeks in which police reportedly interfered with the funeral and mourning arrangements of deceased Ahmadis after pressure from extremist clerics.
The reported intervention prevented Ahmadi families from conducting funeral-related religious practices free from intimidation and interference.
The persecution of Ahmadis increasingly extends beyond their lifetime. In recent years, authorities have overseen or permitted the desecration of Ahmadi graves, prevented burials in public cemeteries, exhumed deceased Ahmadis, and interfered with funeral ceremonies solely because of the deceased’s religious identity.
Such actions inflict additional suffering upon grieving families while violating the dignity owed to every individual after death.
Evidence: https://x.com/faith_defence/status/2066142271435608105
A Wider Pattern of Persecution
These incidents do not occur in isolation.
IHRC has documented a continuing pattern of human rights violations against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community throughout Pakistan, including targeted killings, attempted murders, arbitrary arrests, restrictions on religious worship, demolition of mosques, desecration of graves, denial of burial rights, criminal prosecutions under Sections 298-B and 298-C of the
Pakistan Penal Code, economic boycotts and sustained hate campaigns.
Equally concerning is the growing role of extremist organisations in influencing administrative and policing decisions. Rather than protecting vulnerable religious minorities, state institutions frequently appear to act in response to pressure from groups promoting sectarian intolerance.
The indoctrination of children with narratives of religious hostility further entrenches this cycle by cultivating future generations in an environment where discrimination against Ahmadis is portrayed as socially or religiously acceptable.
IHRC Calls on the Government of Pakistan to:
- Protect the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community from violence, intimidation and discrimination.
- Ensure that children are educated in accordance with principles of religious tolerance, peaceful coexistence and respect for fundamental human rights.
- Prevent the use of educational or religious platforms to promote hatred against any religious community.
- Guarantee that all citizens are able to conduct funeral and burial arrangements free from intimidation or unlawful interference.
- Investigate allegations of police misconduct and the influence of extremist groups on law enforcement decisions.
- Repeal discriminatory laws, including Sections 298-B and 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code and Ordinance XX, which facilitate persecution of Ahmadis.
IHRC Calls Upon the International Community
IHRC urges the United Nations, UN Special Rapporteurs, international human rights organisations and democratic governments to closely monitor the deteriorating situation facing Ahmadis in Pakistan and to press the Government of Pakistan to fulfil its obligations under international human rights law, including the protection of freedom of religion or belief without discrimination.
The continued indoctrination of children with sectarian ideology, together with interference in the funeral and mourning arrangements of religious minorities, reflects a broader culture of intolerance that requires urgent international attention.
