Violence against Ahmadis continues
Violence against Ahmadis continues. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has denounced in an official statement that they continue to suffer violence against them with the permissiveness of the Pakistani government. As many as 40 mosques were reportedly desecrated in 2023, something that should stop immediately.
The official statement of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is reproduced below:
STATE-SPONSORED ANTI-AHMADIYYA VIOLENCE.
FORTY MOSQUES OF THE AHMADIYYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY DESECRATED BY 2023
There is no respite for Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan after the desecration of the 40th Ahmadi mosque this year.
Another Ahmadi mosque in Pakistan was mercilessly attacked on 24 November 2023 by a group of violent vandals. The place of worship in Doliyan Khatan of AJK's Kotli district was attacked on Friday by 40 unidentified assailants before Friday prayers, which is a holy day for Muslims around the world.
The vandals arrived on motorbikes and left while chanting religious slogans after destroying the mosque's minarets and niche. This place of worship was built in 1954. In this year alone, forty Ahmadi places of worship were desecrated. Day by day, the life of the Ahmadis becomes more difficult and unbearable. The authorities should take note and take action against the culprits.
It is impossible for the Ahmadis to practice their faith while being persecuted by fundamentalist gangs. The latest attacks on this mosque, along with the desecrations carried out by the locals and the police, is strong evidence that law and order does not support the Ahmadis in Pakistan.
The judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (PLD 2014 SC 699), by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, guarantees the protection of all places of worship and instructs the police to protect places of worship. Destroying minarets is also a violation of Article 20 and the same Supreme Court judgment of 2014 (PLD 2014 SC 699).
The 2014 Supreme Court judgment (PLD 2014 SC 699) directed the Government of Pakistan to constitute a task force for the protection of minority places of worship. However, a state-sponsored extremist agenda is persecuting the Ahmadiyya Community, and with the support of the authorities, encouraging such violent behaviour, in defiance of the 2014 Supreme Court judgment (PLD 2014 SC 699).
Human rights groups have repeatedly expressed deep concern over the lack of attention to the serious human rights violations perpetrated against the Ahmadiyya Community around the world and called on the international community to intensify its efforts to end the ongoing persecution of Ahmadis.
On 13 July 2021, UN human rights experts expressed deep concern about the lack of attention to the serious human rights violations perpetrated against the Ahmadiyya Community worldwide and called on the international community to intensify its efforts to end the ongoing persecution of Ahmadis.
We once again urge the international community to press the Government of Pakistan to fulfil its responsibility to provide protection for all its citizens, to guarantee freedom of religious practice for Muslim Ahmadis and to bring the perpetrators of such heinous attacks to justice. The Government of Pakistan must also implement its laws and practices in accordance with international standards, standards enshrined in Article 2, 18 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Articles 25, 26.
