Violent Assault On Ahmadi Mosque In Lahore Pakistan Is The Latest Sign Of Intensifying Religious Terror
On 22nd September in the afternoon the workers of Tehreek e Labbaik and other Clerics gathered outside the Ahmadiyya Mosque of Islamia Park, Lahore. They were having the demand that a search shall be carried out at inside the Mosque and the Mosque shall be sealed. This video[1] documents on such action.
The Police along with the Clerics searched the Mosque but they could not find any controversial thing inside the Mosque. However, during the search, the Cleric took a picture of the Dome upon which the Policeman said to the Cleric now you have an evidence with you. The Clerics made a demand while making the local residents as a fundamental base that the Mosque shall be completely sealed and there shall be no permission to offer any kind of Worship over here.
It is pertinent to mention here that earlier the same group played its role in getting the Mosque of Sham Nagar Lahore sealed and to get the cases being registered against the Ahmadis.
Pictures (screenshots from videos): On 22nd September in the afternoon the workers of Tehreek e Labbaik and other Clerics gathered outside the Ahmadiyya Mosque of Islamia Park, Lahore in a violent assault.
As of now a case has been registered against Mirza Ilyas Ahmad of Islamia Park, Lahore. Mr. Ahad Raza resident of Islamia Park and a person named as Nawaz (Although according to the locals there is no person of this residing in Islamia Park, Lahore) and also some other unknown persons on the accusation of the construction of the Mosque having a Dome similar to that of the Mosque and to present themselves as Muslims under FIR No. 24/1784 at Linton Road, Lahore under Section 298-B and 298-C.
The latest situation from the Mosque is that the locks have been put at the gates of the Mosque.
Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan continue to struggle to enjoy their most basic and fundamental human rights in relation to Freedom of Religion and Belief. The Government of Pakistan must look into this blatant violation of judgment of the Lahore High Court and must hold the culprits accountable. Moreover, it is mandatory that security be provided to all Ahmadiyya Muslim Community places of worship to ensure violence and hate-incidents such as this do not escalate any further.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan’s judgement (PLD 2014 SC 699), authored by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, guarantees the protection of all places of worship and instructs the police to protect places of worship. Destroying minarets is also a violation of Article 20 and the same Supreme Court verdict of 2014 (PLD 2014 SC 699).
The same Supreme Court judgement of 2014 (PLD 2014 SC 699) had asked the Government of Pakistan to form a special task force for the protection of worship places of minorities. On the contrary, an extremist agenda sponsored by the state is being pursued against the Ahmadiyya community with authorities encouraging this type of violent behaviour which defies this Supreme Court judgement of 2014 (PLD 2014 SC 699) and all norms of religious sanctimony.
Human rights groups have repeatedly expressed their deep concern over the lack of attention to the serious human rights violations perpetrated against the Ahmadiyya community around the world and called on the international community to step up efforts in bringing an end to the ongoing persecution of Ahmadis.
In July 2024, a group of top UN Human Rights experts including UN Special Rapporteurs urged an “immediate end to discrimination and violence against Ahmadis in Pakistan, citing documented evidence of “extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, attacks on places of worship and curtailment of free expression, peaceful assembly and association.” Apparently, their pleas fell on deaf ears.
We once again urge the international community to pressure the Government of Pakistan to honor its responsibility to provide protection to all its citizens, ensure freedom of religious practice to Ahmadis, and bring perpetrators of such vicious attacks to justice. The Government of Pakistan must also bring its laws and practices in conformity with international standards as ordained by Article 2, 18 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Article 25, 26.
