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HomeGo To PakistanTLP calls for violence against Ahmadis, Pakistanis want party banned

TLP calls for violence against Ahmadis, Pakistanis want party banned

Last week, 27 Ahmadis were attacked by members of the radical religious party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, in Punjab’s Bahawalnagar. Citizens are now calling for a ban on the party.

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New Delhi: Pakistan’s persecution of its religious minorities refuses to stop. After attacking and arresting 27 members of the Ahmadi community for offering prayers last week, members of radical religious party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan or TLP have now given an open call to violence against Ahmadis in Punjab’s Bahawalnagar. They have declared that the community has no right to live in Pakistan.

Visuals on social media show TLP leaders calling for the ransacking of Ahmadi homes and the desecration of their mosques in Punjab on Sunday. No mainstream media has reported on the desecrations yet.

Ahmadi activist Mona Farooq Ahmad told ThePrint that since the attacks are state-sponsored, mainstream media reportage is sparse.

If you talk about Ahmadi rights, people start calling you Ahmadi or a traitor, or a lesser Muslim,” she said.

With no punitive action, activists and concerned citizens are now calling for a ban on the religious party in order to stop Pakistan from converting into a state of murder.

They are shocked at the “clear incitement of genocide” and blame the Maryam Nawaz-led Punjab government for giving a free hand to extremists.

How can #Pakistan and its leaders claim to have the rule of constitution when they ignore fundamental rights of security, religion and faith? The system is silent while the religious persecution of #Ahmadis is at its peak,” human rights researcher Shanaj Khan wrote on X.

Most Pakistanis are in agreement. “Has the state lost control of the monster it created, or is this all going according to plan? Either way, this is now a matter of survival. If you don’t rein it in now, the beast you once fed will soon sink its teeth into you,” Ahmad wrote on X.

Others think the government refuses to act while TLP carries out a ‘witch hunt’ against minorities.

“TLP is a terrorist organization if ever there was one. Why is the State and the PMLN government & provincial govts letting them run around freely while they are clearly conducting a mass witch-hunt against Ahmadi citizens,” writer Maria Amir posted on X.


Also read: Maryam Nawaz fired doctor who had already resigned. ‘TikTok mentality,’ say Pakistani doctors


Repeated persecution of Ahmadis

The persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan is now an everyday reality. Most often, even the state forces relent to the calls by radical religious groups. 

Six members of the Ahmadi community were arrested by the Punjab police in Karachi, at the behest of TLP. Ironically, the cases were filed after the Punjab police took 25 Ahmadis into protective custody after TLP extremists gathered outside their mosque in Surjani, Karachi to prevent them from offering prayers. Earlier in March, a 120-year-old mosque was demolished in Gujranwala, Punjab, at the behest of the TLP and five Ahmadis were arrested for protesting the desecration.

Under Pakistani law, Ahmadi worship places built before 1984 cannot be demolished. However, the Gujranwala police reportedly said that they demolished the Ahmadi worship place on complaints that it had minarets like that of a Muslim mosque, which is viewed as blasphemy since Ahmadis are considered non-Muslims in Pakistan. 

Pakistan has the largest population of Ahmadis, about 40 lakh. However, the Constitution of Pakistan categorises them as non-Muslims. They must declare themselves as non-Muslims in order to avail legal, voting, and administrative rights, according to a March 2023 human rights report.

The irony is not lost on Pakistanis. In a sarcastic tweet, a Pakistani X user noted: “Ramzan culture in Pakistan is unparalleled. Subha nihari, paye, parathe ki sehri, din me ahmediyon pe attack, sham me kachorian, pakorday, samose.

(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)

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1 COMMENT

  1. The Ahmadis and the Shias led the Pakistan Movement. They provided the intellectual and political leadership to the movement which ultimately led to the partition of India.
    Mow they themselves have no place in Pakistan.
    A perfect case of Frankenstein’s monster. The monster they created has come home now.

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