Prayer Niche of Ahmadiyya Mosque Destroyed by Revenue Department in Punjab
Historic mosque in Gujranwala targeted amid growing legalised discrimination
Incident in Lawairi Wala, District Gujranwala
Lawairi Wala, District Gujranwala, Punjab – 4 December 2025:
Around 4 p.m., officials from the Revenue Department entered an Ahmadiyya mosque in Lawairi Wala and demolished its prayer niche (mihrab). The operation, carried out without prior notice to the worshippers or mosque administration, lasted roughly twenty minutes.
Officials went straight to the front of the main prayer area and destroyed the mihrab – the focal point indicating the direction of prayer. For the local Ahmadi community, this was experienced as a direct act of desecration in their house of worship.
The mosque was built around 1934–35, almost 90 years ago, long before the promulgation of the anti-Ahmadiyya Ordinance XX. It has served as a long-standing, peaceful place of worship. Its partial destruction is therefore an attack on an historic religious site, not a recent or disputed structure.
IHRC condemns this act as a grave violation of freedom of religion and belief.
From Sectarian Petition to Administrative Demolition
The demolition stems from a sectarian campaign:
- In July 2025, Tehreek-e-Labbaik activist Pir Tayyab Nawaz petitioned the Additional Sessions Judge, Wazirabad, demanding that the minarets and niche of this Ahmadiyya mosque be demolished and that action be taken against Ahmadi office-bearers. He also made the local police a party to the case for allegedly failing to act.
- The court summoned all parties and sought a report from the district administration, which said the matter had been referred to the District Intelligence Committee (D.I.C.). After the D.I.C. review, the police reported to the court that the niche was “illegal” (sic) and agreed to its demolition.
- In October 2025, the court requested a further review and an additional report, which has not yet been submitted. The matter remained sub judice.
Despite the absence of a final court decision, Revenue Department officials proceeded on 4 December 2025 to demolish the mihrab, without presenting any new court order and without notifying the community. Due process and judicial oversight were effectively bypassed.
IHRC further notes reports that Pir Tayyab has since been arrested during a crackdown on criminal activities linked to Tehreek-e-Labbaik and that the mosque under his administration has been sealed – yet the demands in his petition against the Ahmadi mosque have been carried out by the state.
Occurring Under the Shadow of Pakistan’s New Minority Rights Law
This desecration occurs in the wider context of Pakistan’s new National Commission for Minority Rights law, under which Ahmadis have been openly excluded from protection unless they renounce their belief and identity as Muslims.
In such an environment, Ahmadi mosques are effectively left without institutional protection, and local officials can act against their places of worship with little fear of accountability or remedy for the affected community.
IHRC’s Key Demands
IHRC calls on the Government of Pakistan to:
- Immediately investigate the demolition of the prayer niche at the Ahmadiyya mosque in Lawairi Wala, District Gujranwala, including the role of the Revenue Department, district administration, and police.
- Hold accountable all officials who authorised or executed the operation, and make the findings public.
- Restore the damaged structure, including the mihrab, in consultation with the Ahmadiyya community, and ensure no further interference with this or other Ahmadi places of worship.
- Instruct all authorities to reject sectarian demands for demolition or alteration of Ahmadi mosques and to uphold equal protection of the law.
IHRC urges Pakistani civil society, media, and the international community to monitor, document, and raise such incidents, and to insist on genuine protection for all religious communities in Pakistan, including Ahmadis.
