Pakistan: Ahmadis Face Surveillance, Arrests and Religious Restrictions During Eid-ul-Adha
Eid-ul-Adha 2026 exposed the reality faced by Ahmadis in Pakistan: a community forced to observe a sacred religious festival under the constant threat of surveillance, police action, and criminal prosecution.
The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) expresses grave concern over the treatment of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan during Eid-ul-Adha 2026, as authorities and extremists across multiple regions intensified surveillance, arrests, detentions, and restrictions aimed at preventing Ahmadis from observing one of the most important religious occasions in the Islamic calendar.
Eid-ul-Adha, which for Muslims around the world, is the ritual sacrifice of animals (Qurbani) and forms a central part of their religious observance. However, for Ahmadis in Pakistan, even carrying out this act within the privacy of their own homes and private property increasingly exposes them to police intervention, arrest, detention, criminal prosecution and massive mobs of extremists chanting outside their homes
Official police complaint and English translation documenting the arrest and prosecution of an Ahmadi Muslim for observing Eid-ul-Adha. Further evidence:
View incident evidence
These incidents occurred against the backdrop of a coordinated nationwide campaign by extremist organisations, bar associations, and anti-Ahmadi pressure groups who openly called upon authorities to prevent Ahmadis from observing Eid-ul-Adha. In the days leading up to the festival, several legal associations and religious groups issued statements and letters demanding restrictions on Ahmadi religious practices and urging police action against Ahmadis engaged in Eid-related activities.
Surveillance and Monitoring of Private Religious Practice
IHRC is deeply concerned by evidence indicating that Ahmadi communities across Pakistan were subjected to extraordinary levels of monitoring during Eid-ul-Adha.
Reports received by IHRC suggest that anti-Ahmadi complaint networks and dedicated reporting mechanisms were actively used to identify, monitor, and report Ahmadis believed to be performing Qurbani. In numerous cases, police action was triggered solely on the basis of complaints alleging that Ahmadis were engaging in religious practices associated with Eid-ul-Adha.
This situation raises serious concerns regarding the right to privacy and freedom of religion. The fact that individuals carrying out religious rituals within the confines of their own homes, courtyards, and private properties can be subjected to surveillance, reporting, and subsequent police intervention demonstrates the extent to which Ahmadis are denied the ability to practise their faith free from fear and intrusion.
The effective monitoring of private religious observance has created an atmosphere in which Ahmadi families feel constantly watched and vulnerable to criminal proceedings for engaging in acts of worship that would be entirely lawful for other citizens.
Arbitrary Arrests and Detentions
IHRC documented several incidents during Eid-ul-Adha in which Ahmadis were detained or arrested despite carrying out religious activities on private premises.
In one incident in Punjab province, Ahmadis performing Qurbani within the boundary walls of private property were reported through emergency complaint channels. Police subsequently arrived at the location, detained members of the community, confiscated sacrificial meat, and initiated legal proceedings. Although no criminal case was ultimately registered, two Ahmadis were detained under preventive detention orders and remained incarcerated for several days before being released.
In another incident in Gujranwala district, an Ahmadi man carrying out a sacrifice on behalf of a deceased family member became the subject of a complaint submitted through an anti-Ahmadi reporting mechanism. Police arrived at the scene, detained the individual and others present, and subsequently registered a criminal case under Pakistan’s anti-Ahmadi provisions. Despite representations made on behalf of the community, the accused was arrested and transferred to prison on judicial remand.
These incidents demonstrate how ordinary religious observance can rapidly escalate into criminal proceedings for members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
Criminalisation of Religious Identity
The arrests and legal actions carried out during Eid-ul-Adha are not isolated incidents but form part of a broader pattern of persecution enabled by Pakistan’s discriminatory legal framework.
Sections 298-B and 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code continue to criminalise fundamental aspects of Ahmadi religious expression and identity. These provisions are frequently invoked to justify police action against Ahmadis, even when activities take place on private property and pose no threat to public order.
The use of these laws during a major religious festival highlights the extent to which Ahmadis remain unable to exercise their faith on an equal basis with other citizens.
Climate of Fear and Intimidation
The events surrounding Eid-ul-Adha 2026 have reinforced a climate of fear already experienced by many Ahmadi families throughout Pakistan.
Community members reported concerns that neighbours, local activists, complaint networks, and extremist groups were actively monitoring their activities during the Eid period. The knowledge that private religious observance could result in police intervention, detention, or criminal prosecution created significant anxiety among families wishing to mark the occasion peacefully.
Such conditions amount to a profound infringement of freedom of religion or belief and contribute to ongoing psychological pressure upon an already vulnerable religious minority.
IHRC Calls on the International Community
IHRC calls upon the Government of Pakistan to:
- Immediately cease the targeting of Ahmadis for engaging in peaceful religious practices.
- End the surveillance, monitoring, and reporting mechanisms used to interfere with private religious observance.
- Release all individuals detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief.
- Withdraw cases arising from peaceful religious activities carried out during Eid-ul-Adha.
- Ensure that law enforcement agencies uphold constitutional and international protections relating to privacy, religious freedom, and equal treatment before the law.
IHRC further urges the international community, including the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, the United Nations Human Rights Council, the European Union, the Commonwealth, and democratic governments worldwide, to raise these incidents with Pakistani authorities and press for meaningful reforms to protect the fundamental rights of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
The events of Eid-ul-Adha 2026 demonstrate that Ahmadis in Pakistan continue to face a system of discrimination that extends beyond public life and into the privacy of their own homes. No individual should face arrest, detention, surveillance, or criminal prosecution simply for observing a religious festival peacefully and within the confines of private property.
