In District Khushab, Pakistan, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community have faced a coordinated campaign of religious persecution and intimidation. On Eid day, as community members gathered for Eid prayers, hostile local opponents recorded videos and demanded immediate legal action against Ahmadi Muskims, including the sealing of their mosque.
Although the police initially declined to act without an investigation, they returned on 1 April 2025 under pressure from the same group. Between the evening prayers, officers locked the Ahmadi Muslim mosque. While two keys remain with community members, one was confiscated by the police, who issued instructions that prayers must not be offered there until further notice.
On the same night, in Roda, another area within Khushab, Islamic inscriptions on Ahmadi Muslim gravestones were desecrated. Previously, the police had summoned members of the community and warned them to erase the inscriptions or face legal consequences, citing pressure from the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a far-right religious extremist organisation. The community firmly refused to comply, standing by their religious freedoms.
Despite ongoing discussions with the authorities, unidentified individuals defaced several gravestones by smearing cement over the Islamic inscriptions. When alerted, police denied any involvement or prior knowledge. Community members later cleaned the gravestones and removed the cement themselves.
These coordinated actions—against both Ahmadi Muslim mosques and the deceased—represent a disturbing escalation in the state-enabled suppression of Ahmadi Muslim religious identity in Pakistan.
Source: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK.