Community leaders allege ongoing campaign of hostility and incitement
Police personnel stand guard outside an Ahmadiyya prayer hall in Karachi, Pakistan, in April 2025. The anti-Ahmadi graffiti on the gate reads, ‘Qadiani kafir,’ meaning ‘an infidel belonging to the Ahmadiyya community,’ a religious label used by mainstream orthodox Muslims for followers of that sect. (Photo courtesy of Persecution of Ahmadis: Annual Report 2026 for the Year 2025)
Published: September 03, 2026
An elderly Ahmadi leader has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s Punjab province, raising renewed concerns over continuing hostility and incitement against the community.
Safdar Mahmood, 65, was killed on the evening of Sept. 2 near the entrance of Eidgah ground in Mandi Bahauddin district, according to the Ahmadiyya community.
The assailants opened fire, and Mahmood died on the spot, community members said.
He is survived by his wife and two sons. The funeral was held in Rabwah city, the headquarters of Pakistan’s Ahmadiyya community.
The family alleged that Mahmood was targeted because of his faith.
“Our father had no enmity with anyone. This murder was a systematic target killing aimed at spreading fear, panic and religious hatred among Ahmadis,” his son, Kamran Safdar, said in the complaint filed with the police.
Afzal Ahmad, an investigating officer at the City Police Station in Mandi Bahauddin, said police had launched a search for the unidentified assailants.
“The case is being investigated from different angles, including the victim’s recent second marriage and his business dealings,” Ahmad told UCA News, saying it was too early to establish a religious motive.
In a previous incident, reported in June 2024, two Ahmadis were shot dead in Sadullahpur, a rural locality in Mandi Bahauddin district.
Ahmad said the suspect in that case was a teenage student from a local madrassah who was “inspired by a cleric’s speech and considered Ahmadis kafirs [infidels].”
He said the trial in the case was underway and the accused could face the death penalty if convicted.
The police officer claimed that the Ahmadi community was currently living peacefully in the area following a crackdown on activists of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).
The far-right, populist Islamist political party was banned in October 2025 under anti-terrorism laws following violent protests and deadly clashes during its campaign for strict enforcement of the country’s blasphemy laws.
The Ahmadiyya community, which emerged in British India in the 19th century, considers itself Muslim but differs from mainstream Islam over the finality of prophethood.
Pakistan declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974 and restricts their use of Islamic terminology and symbols.
The 2023 census recorded 162,684 Ahmadis in the country.
Ahmadiyya spokesperson Amir Mahmood said the latest killing was the first reported faith-based killing of an Ahmadi in Pakistan this year.
“Mandi Bahauddin, like other parts of Pakistan, has witnessed an ongoing campaign of hostility and incitement against Ahmadis,” he said in a Sept. 3 statement.
Sohail Alam, a member of Punjab’s Minority Advisory Council, called the killing regrettable but said anti-Ahmadi violence had declined in recent years.
“The timely arrest of the killer and swift justice can assure Ahmadis in Mandi Bahauddin that they are safe,” Alam said, urging impartial policing and stronger intelligence in sensitive districts.
The Ahmadiyya community’s annual report recorded three faith-motivated killings, one death in police custody, five assassination attempts and 250 criminal cases against Ahmadis under blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws in 2025.Trending NewsVatican News
The report said 21 Ahmadi places of worship were targeted, while 381 graves were desecrated, including 77 allegedly by police.
Families were also reportedly prevented from burying relatives in local cemeteries, it noted.
source https://www.ucanews.com/news/ahmadi-leader-shot-dead-in-pakistans-punjab/115136
Categories: Ahmadis And Pakistan, Asia, Pakistan, Pakistan Police