Rights body condemns persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan, calls for global action
London, July 1 (IANS) A leading international human rights organisation strongly condemned the treatment of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan, citing campaigns demanding the closure of Ahmadi mosques, criminal prosecutions under the country’s discriminatory blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws, economic boycotts, grave desecrations and targeted killings.
Expressing grave concern, the UK-based International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) said that the recent developments in Pakistan reflect the continuing institutionalisation and normalisation of anti-Ahmadi hatred. It noted that the incidents highlighted how intolerance towards the Ahmadiyya Muslim community is cultivated from childhood and continues to manifest throughout every stage of an Ahmadi’s life—including after death.
“The first incident involves the public indoctrination of children with sectarian ideology centred on Khatme Nabuwwat, while the second concerns police interference in the funeral and mourning arrangements of deceased Ahmadis in Badin, Sindh, reportedly following pressure from extremist clerics,” the IHRC said.
It stated that the reported intervention in Badin by Pakistani police prevented Ahmadi families from conducting funeral-related religious practices free from “intimidation and interference.”
“The persecution of Ahmadis increasingly extends beyond their lifetime. In recent years, authorities have overseen or permitted the desecration of Ahmadi graves, prevented burials in public cemeteries, exhumed deceased Ahmadis, and interfered with funeral ceremonies solely because of the deceased’s religious identity. Such actions inflict additional suffering upon grieving families while violating the dignity owed to every individual after death,” the IHRC stated.
The rights body noted that these were not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of persecution targeting the Ahmadis across Pakistan.
According to the IHRC, it has documented a continuing pattern of human rights violations against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community throughout the country, including targeted killings, attempted murders, arbitrary arrests, restrictions on religious worship, demolition of mosques, desecration of graves, denial of burial rights, criminal prosecutions under the Pakistan Penal Code, economic boycotts and sustained hate campaigns.
“Equally concerning is the growing role of extremist organisations in influencing administrative and policing decisions. Rather than protecting vulnerable religious minorities, state institutions frequently appear to act in response to pressure from groups promoting sectarian intolerance,” it noted.
The rights body further stressed that indoctrination of children with narratives of religious hostility further entrenches this cycle by cultivating future generations in an environment where discrimination against Ahmadis is portrayed as “socially or religiously acceptable”.
The IHRC called on the government of Pakistan to protect the Ahmadiyya Muslim community from violence, intimidation and discrimination. It also urged the authorities to ensure that children are educated in accordance with principles of religious tolerance, peaceful coexistence and respect for fundamental human rights, while preventing the use of educational or religious platforms to promote hatred against any religious community.
IHRC also appealed to the United Nations, UN Special Rapporteurs, international human rights organisations and democratic governments to closely monitor the deteriorating situation facing Ahmadis and to press the government of Pakistan to fulfil its obligations under international human rights law, including the protection of freedom of religion or belief without discrimination.
“The continued indoctrination of children with sectarian ideology, together with interference in the funeral and mourning arrangements of religious minorities, reflects a broader culture of intolerance that requires urgent international attention,” it stated.
–IANS
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