A deeply worrying wave of coordinated attacks and arrests is targeting the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan on grounds of faith
Fabricated Charges
A dispute between two non-Ahmadi groups culminated in the death of a man named Amjad while he was being rushed to hospital. Exploiting this tragedy, activists from Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a far-right religious extremist group, launched a targeted campaign against the local Ahmadiyya Muslim Community—despite the fact that no Ahmadi Muslims were present when the altercation occurred.
TLP supporters then orchestrated a protest in Dahranwala, claiming without any evidence that Ahmadi Muslims had caused Amjad’s death. Under pressure from the crowd, authorities registered a frivolous murder case – despite a complete lack of evidence – against two Ahmadi Muslims and seven other locals under Sections 302, 109, 148, and 149 of Pakistan’s Penal Code.
Mob of TLP extremists marching towards Ahmadi Muslim homes.
Minarets demolished, homes looted
By the evening of 8 March 2025 , police used heavy machinery to demolish the minarets of the Ahmadi Muslim mosque in Chak 166 Murad,Bahawalnagar, an action that not only violated constitutional protections and prior High Court rulings but also flouted the Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s fundamental right to worship.
Concurrently, TLP extremist ransacked Ahmadi Muslim homes, seizing personal property in full view of law enforcement. This collusion between officials and the mob underscores a broader state-enabled persecution.
Arrested for offering prayers
The events in Bahawalnagar form part of an alarming Ramadan crackdown on Ahmadi Muslims across multiple districts. On 28 February, 22 Ahmadi Muslims in Daska were arrested for offering Friday prayers (including a 14-year-old), while in Sargodha, 23 individuals now face charges for simply congregating to worship. Earlier this month on 7 March in Karachi authorities arrested six Ahmadis and charged over 25 individuals for offering Friday prayers in their mosque. The mosque was subsequently sealed.
Taken together, these incidents reflect a disturbing new phase in which any incident —even one wholly unconnected to Ahmadi Muslims — can be manipulated to incite hatred against them and weaponise local grievances to compel the state to persecute a community under siege.
Source: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK.