Pakistan's crackdown on Ahmadis exposes deep-rooted institutional persecution: Report

Rome, April 7 Pakistan’s systematic persecution of the Ahmadi community was laid bare yet again during Eid this year, highlighting that the campaign against them is not driven by fringe elements but by an organised and deeply embedded institutionalised system, a report has detailed.

According to Italy-based online magazine ‘Bitter Winter', despite Pakistan’s rhetoric on "pluralism, tolerance, and fight against extremism", Eid in Punjab province witnessed the right of a minority to pray under attack.

“Eid-ul-Fitr should have been a time of joy for Pakistan’s Ahmadiyya community. It might have offered a rare break in a year marked by legal harassment, vandalised mosques, and increasing restrictions on their religious practices. Instead, this year’s Eid highlighted how far the state and those who influence it will go to keep Ahmadis hidden, even in private spaces," the report detailed.

The report noted that in several regions in Punjab, police arrived at Ahmadi prayer sites, forcing worshippers out and locking doors - signalling that even being within four walls, safety is no longer assured.

“In Gujranwala, congregational prayers were stopped before they could start. In Sialkot, officers spread out across several locations to ensure that no Ahmadi Eid gathering took place. Faisalabad witnessed a place of worship forcibly emptied, while in Sargodha, prayer centres were cleared and sealed like crime scenes instead of places for devotion,” it mentioned.

Highlighting that the police did not act in isolation, the report said, “In the weeks before Eid, bar associations — groups that should protect civil liberties in a healthy democracy — sent letters urging authorities to treat Ahmadi religious practices as criminal. One bar association in Sindh called for action against Ahmadis observing their rites, while another in Lahore pressed for strict enforcement of laws meant to limit the community’s religious expression."

Citing the remarks by India at the United Nations General Assembly event commemorating the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, the report stated that New Delhi described “the brutal repression of the Ahmadiyya” as a form of Islamophobia.

“The events in Punjab supported India’s claim. Preventing a peaceful community from observing Eid prayers is the expected result of a system where legal bodies promote discrimination, police enforce it, and politicians look the other way,” it noted.

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