Amnesty calls on govt to drop charges against Ahmadis, protect their places of worship

Dawn.com Published March 11, 2025  Updated 3 days ago

Amnesty International on Monday called on the government to release and drop all charges against all Ahmadis detained in recent weeks and ensure adequate protection to Ahmadi places of worship.

On March 1, Daska (Sialkot) police arrested 22 members of the Ahmadiyya community for offering prayers in their religious place.

Then on March 7, over two dozen members of the Ahmadi community, including children, were taken into “protective custody” by law enforcement personnel as a mob gathered outside its place of worship in Surjani Town, Karachi.

Later that day, police registered a criminal case against over two dozen members of the Ahmadiyya community and arrested six of them on the complaint of a Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) activist in Surjani Town.

A day ago, Dahranwala police booked nine people, including seven men who were stated to be members of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and two members of the Ahmadiyya community, on charge of torturing a TLP activist to death during a scuffle at Chak 166 Murad in Bahawalnagar.

“The disturbing pattern of arbitrary arrests, harassment and violence against the Ahmadiyya community is in violation of their right to freedom of religion and belief,” the global rights organisation said in a post on X.

In the past two weeks alone, more than 60 Ahmadis, including children, have been unlawfully arrested in Daska, Sargodha and Karachi in Punjab and Sindh, while Ahmadiyya places of worship have been desecrated in Bahawalnagar and Gujranwala, Amnesty said.

“The authorities have filed cases under section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (Person of Quadiani group, etc calling himself a Muslim or preaching or propagating his faith) which bars the Ahmadiyya community from calling themselves Muslims or preaching their faith.

“Amnesty International calls on the Pakistani authorities to immediately release and drop charges against all Ahmadis detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief,” Amnesty said.

It added: “Local authorities in Pakistan must provide adequate protection to Ahmadi places of worship and any officials engaged in harassment or destruction of Ahmadiyya property must be brought to justice.

“Denying the Ahmadis their right to freedom of religion and belief is in violation of Article 20 of Pakistan’s Constitution and the country’s international human rights obligations.”

The Human Rights Com­­mission of Pakistan (HRCP) said last week it had observed a growing trend of mob-led attacks on the homes of families belonging to religious minorities, as well as their places of worship.

The HRCP also spoke of Ahmadis’ “arbitrary” detention, alleged desecration of their graves and the vulnerability of Hindu and Christian women to forced conversion.

The report, titled Under Siege: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2023-24, said over 750 persons were in prison on charges of blasphemy as of October last year. It documented at least four faith-based killings, three of which targeted the Ahmadi community.

HRCP observed an “increasing weaponisation of blasphe­­my laws against Ahmadis”, with cases often initiated by law enforcement officials themselves.

According to the report, “four cases were filed by police officers against Ahmadis in Punjab, reflecting an institutional bias against the community.”

source https://www.dawn.com/news/1897225

Bail Denied to Ahmadis Arrested in Pakistan for Praying on Friday

03/13/2025Massimo IntrovigneA+ | A-

Under the pressure of the radical Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, members of the Ahmadiyya community are now prohibited even from praying in their own houses of worship.

by Massimo Introvigne

Members of the heavily persecuted Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan are now being arrested just for praying inside their houses of worship. This is part of a campaign instigated by the extremist religious-political organization Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), to which “Bitter Winter” devoted a series of seven articles. While it is true that the Pakistani government tries to contain TLP extremism, it is also intimated by its threats of riots. In the case of the Ahmadis, police and courts often end up siding with TLP.

According to a FIR (First Information Report) filed with the police on February 28, 2025, a copy of which has been obtained and published by the International Human Rights Committee, based in England, one Hamza Asif Butt, who appears to be connected with TLP, claimed he was taking a walk the same day in Daska, Punjab. He heard a voice delivering what he recognized as a “Qadiani” (a derogatory word used to describe the Ahmadis) sermon. 

He managed to look inside the building, an Ahmadi place of worship, and found twenty-six devotees gathered there. Since the day was a Friday, he claimed that the Ahmadis were preparing to offering Friday prayers. According to him, praying on Friday for the Ahmadis is tantamount to claiming to be Muslims, something they are not allowed to do by Pakistani anti-Ahmadi laws. 

He called the police, which promptly arrested 22 Ahmadis. On March 5, they were denied bail and remain in jail.

The incident confirms the current extensive interpretation of anti-Ahmadi laws, which are in themselves contrary to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Pakistan signed and ratified, under the pressure of Tehreek-e-Labbaik. Even private worship inside buildings with locked doors is now prohibited for the Ahmadis.

source https://bitterwinter.org/bail-denied-to-ahmadis-arrested-in-pakistan-for-praying-on-friday/