Amid a surge in lethal violence against Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, the Lahore High Court Bar Association has instructed regional police to take legal action against Ahmadi Muslims for gathering, observing, and praying during the upcoming Muslim Eid celebrations on Sunday 16 June and Monday 17 June.
On 6 June 2024, the lawyer’s association referenced laws that classify Ahmadis as non-Muslims, using derogatory language (referring to Ahmadis as “Qadyanis”) and aligning with positions held by extremist clerics who have incited violence in recent months. Following these directives, two Ahmadi Muslims from Mandi Bahauddin were murdered on 8 June 2024, after open threats from TLP clerics.
Supplementary Directive Details
The directives instruct regional police officials to implement the earlier notification No. SO (IS-III)6-35/2023 dated 23 June 2023, for enforcing Section 298(C) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The directive emphasizes that certain religious practices such as the “Eid Prayer Congregation” and the “Qurbani” (sacrificial offering) are exclusively for Muslims. It cites Article 260(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, which declares Ahmadis as a non-Muslim minority since September 7, 1974, and restrains them from performing Islamic rituals under Section 298(C) of the PPC.
The directive further asserts that Ahmadi Muslims, by performing these religious practices, fraudulently pose as Muslims, violating the law. It instructs that strict action be taken against Ahmadi Muslims who engage in Eid-related activities and calls for pre-emptive measures to prevent such occurrences. It also warns of stern departmental action against officials who fail to comply with these instructions.
The directives can be found be found here and here.
Source: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK.