In Pakistan, the police attacked the mosques of the persecuted Islamic minority, whose public worship has been prohibited since 1984. The latest raids took place in Kakhanwali and Faisalabad, despite the prohibition of intervening in buildings built before the 1980s. Aamir Mahmood, spokesman for the Ahmadiyya organization: “The institutions manipulate the law to attack us.”
Sialkot () – On the night of November 26, the police attacked the Ahmadiyya mosque in Kakhanwali and destroyed its minaret. The operation – led by the inspector of Phalwara, Sialkot, with 35 officers – was carried out following a complaint from Sajjad, a Muslim who does not live in the village. The police had previously ordered leaders of the Ahmadiyya community to destroy their own place of worship, trying in vain to claim that it had been built after 1984. The ordinance prohibiting public worship linked to the Islamic traditions of Ahmadiyya was enacted forty years ago. the Ahmadiyya community, a heavily persecuted minority in Pakistan.
It may be recalled that on April 10, 2023, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh of the Lahore High Court issued a verdict that places of worship of the Ahmadiyya community built before 1984 cannot be vandalized and must be protected. Local Muslims in Kakhanwali themselves told the police that they are not against the presence of mosques of the Ahmadiyya community. And they wonder how the attack occurred, which was also caused by a complaint from a person not resident in the area.
Later, on November 27, still in Chak 27 JB, in the same district of Sialkot, an armed group of 20 Islamic extremists attacked an Ahmadi place of worship. They arrived on a motorcycle in broad daylight, broke in and damaged the archway. Some went to the upper floor and destroyed the minarets and vandalized a tomb. When local people intervened and tried to stop them, they said they belonged to the police and after desecrating the mosque, they fled. In both places the residents tried to stop the police and the fundamentalists, but without success.
Aamir Mahmood, spokesperson for Jamaat Ahmadiyya Punjab, told : “I strongly condemn the illegal actions carried out by the Punjab police and fundamentalists. The Ahmadiyya community has been suffering from this persecution for a long time.” In 2024, Punjab police and extremists have so far vandalized the minarets of 17 places of worship. “The state has not taken any action against the perpetrators. It is pathetic that the law enforcement institutions do not act based on the clear verdict of the Lahore High Court. No one can desecrate the minarets and tombs.”
“Whether it is the work of the police or extremists, this ruins Pakistan’s image in the international community. I call on the government to take effective measures to protect Ahmadiyya gathering places and take rigorous action to stop the hate campaign against the Ahmadiyya community. “he adds. “We love our country and respect its laws, but unfortunately the law enforcement institutions are manipulating the rules to attack Ahmadiyya places of worship. We can only appeal to the government and the courts of the country and we will raise our voice against this violence, “The government should take our requests seriously and protect its citizens and their rights.”
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