The persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan continues to be a gross violation of human rights.
Ahmadi Muslims are not allowed to practice their faith freely, even within the confines of their own homes, which goes against the Pakistan Supreme Court’s ruling.
Incidents of forcefully preventing Ahmadi Muslims from sacrificing animals during Eid ul Adha have increased significantly.
Vigilantes, with the support of the police, have marked Ahmadi Muslim homes, attacked their properties, and registered frivolous cases against community members. This has resulted in Ahmadi Muslims being deprived of their right to offer prayers during Eid ul Adha. These actions by the police and vigilantes are in contravention of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan and disregard the Supreme Court’s ruling. Some specific incidents and statistics include:
- 23 applications and complaints were submitted to various police stations to stop Ahmadi Muslims from slaughtering animals.
- Punjab Police harassed Ahmadi Muslims at 89 places for not slaughtering animals to appease extremist vigilantes.
- Ahmadi Muslims were barred from offering Eid prayers at 4 places.
- 28 surety bonds were forced upon Ahmadi Muslims.
- 13 Ahmadi Muslims have been booked in 6 cases, and 7 Ahmadi Muslims are arrested in various districts.
- 10 animals were illegally taken into custody by the police.
- 5 Ahmadi Muslim houses were illegally searched, breaching their right to privacy, and the meat was illegally taken by the police.
- Ahmadi Muslims were harassed and intimidated on 11 occasions.
These violations of human rights against Ahmadi Muslims are carried out by extremist vigilantes with the backing of state functionaries, including the police.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community demands the dismissal of baseless cases and the immediate release of innocent Ahmadis. They also call for measures to uphold their right to freedom of religion.
Source: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK.