Ahmadis in Pakistan have suffered discrimination and violation of their rights throughout the year, but between April and June 2025, has been the worst time for the community. It has been marked with murder, threats and a direct attack on their basic freedom to practice their faith.

7 Min Read

August 20, 2025

By Xari Jalil

LAHORE

According to a report, the Ahmadi community in Pakistan has been enduring a relentless wave of human rights abuses between April and June 2025, marked by targeted killings, widespread restrictions on religious practices, and the systematic demolition of places of worship. Data and information in the report by the International Human Rights Desk, a UK based body which notes human rights violations against the Ahmadi community. The report details a period of heightened persecution, revealing a disturbing pattern of systemic discrimination often facilitated by state actors in collaboration with extremist elements.

Bleak numbers

The second quarter of 2025 proved particularly fraught for the Ahmadi community, with Eid-ul-Azha emerging as a critical flashpoint. What should have been a sacred time of congregational prayers and ritual animal sacrifice transformed into an annual ordeal of harassment and denial of fundamental religious freedoms. Bar associations, religious activists, and local authorities reportedly coordinated efforts to obstruct Ahmadi worship, compelling individuals in at least 18 districts to sign indemnity bonds under threat of imprisonment.

Obstruction to faith practices

Eyewitness accounts and documented incidents paint a grim picture. Over 150 instances of interference with the ritual animal sacrifice were recorded nationwide. Police reportedly entered private homes in search of meat, disrupted peaceful congregations, and even detained Ahmadis mid-prayer. In Lahore, 24 Ahmadis were detained during Eid prayers, and their place of worship was sealed. Similar incidents unfolded in Gujranwala, where places of worship were locked overnight, and in Sargodha, where worshippers were arrested as they left. These actions underscore a disturbing trend where religious festivals are weaponized to systematically strip Ahmadis of their right to practice their faith openly.

Murder

The report also highlights a chilling escalation in lethal violence. Three Ahmadis were brutally murdered in Karachi, Kasur, and Sargodha during April and May. In a particularly egregious incident on April 18, 46-year-old Laiq Ahmad Cheema was lynched by a mob affiliated with Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) outside an Ahmadiyya center in Karachi. Disturbingly, police were reportedly present but failed to intervene, and no emergency services were called. This lynching, occurring at a site previously vandalized, signals a dangerous new phase in the ongoing campaign of obstruction against Ahmadi Friday prayer services. Rather than bringing the perpetrators to justice, authorities paradoxically registered a case against members of the Ahmadiyya community themselves, citing alleged violations of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The violence continued unabated. On April 24, 19-year-old Muhammad Asif was ambushed and shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Bhulair, Kasur, near his home. This murder followed two years of sustained harassment against local Ahmadis in the area. Less than a month later, on May 16, Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Mahmood, a 58-year-old Ahmadi gastroenterologist, was assassinated outside Fatima Trust Hospital in Sargodha. Dr. Mahmood had long reported receiving threats due to his faith. Despite witnesses identifying the attacker and an FIR being registered, the pursuit of justice for these victims remains a significant concern.

The report further sheds light on the tragic custodial death of Tahir Mahmood, the local president of the Ahmadi community in Malir, Karachi. Detained for two months on faith-based charges following the cancellation of his bail in a case instigated by TLP, Mr. Mahmood succumbed to illness due to what the report describes as inadequate and delayed medical treatment. His death serves as a stark reminder of the state’s direct role in persecution, both through wrongful arrest and negligence in detention.

Attack on ibadatgahs

Beyond the loss of life, Ahmadi places of worship have become direct targets of state-sanctioned destruction. Throughout Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, police and local authorities, often at the behest of TLP and other extremist groups, carried out or facilitated the demolition of minarets and prayer niches, the sealing of worship places, and the desecration of cemeteries. These operations were frequently conducted at night, in the presence of extremist complainants, and disturbingly, often without written legal orders.

Harassment

In a shocking revelation, the report details instances where police summoned Ahmadis to stations for questioning, only to return the same evening to demolish their places of worship. Such incidents, like those in Hamraj Pura and Kot Rehmat Khan in District Nankana, or the sealing of a worship place in Chak No. DB39, District Khushab, confirm a troubling pattern: the state is not merely failing to protect Ahmadi religious sites but is actively dismantling them. The desecration of 90 Ahmadi graves in Rodha, Khushab, after police pressured the community to remove gravestones themselves, further highlights the systematic nature of these attacks.

The everyday lives of Ahmadis are also marred by pervasive exclusion and fear. Children are expelled from schools based on their faith, families are denied burial in common cemeteries, and criminal cases are routinely fabricated on sectarian complaints. Videos circulating online depict Ahmadis being humiliated by mobs, with the police often arresting the victims rather than the perpetrators.

The International Human Rights Desk highlights that the pattern observed shows Ahmadis in Pakistan are persistently denied rights guaranteed under both Pakistan’s constitution and international human rights law. The violence and discrimination they face are not sporadic or the work of isolated actors; they are systemic, sustained, and reinforced through the explicit collaboration of local administrations, police, bar associations, and extremist organizations.

source https://voicepk.net/2025/08/ahmadi-community-faced-worst-situation-between-april-to-june-2025/