In a latest development, three Ahmadiyya mosques have been attacked by radical Islamists and police officers in Pakistan.
On September 23, two Ahmadiyya mosques were attacked and vandalised in Sheikhpura, Pakistan. As usual, the radical Islamists targeted the minaret of the mosques in Narang Mandi and Nano Dogar. Shockingly, the Polce was present at the site but it refrained from taking any action. Some reports even suggest that the Police personnel were themselves involved in desecration of the minarets.
Similarly, on September 21, about 8 to 10 people sneaked into an Ahmadiyya mosque situated at Martin Road in Karachi. As per reports, the miscreants vandalized the mosque and its property including gates, windows, bulbs and other furniture. The perpetrators used a ladder to climb and enter from above the mosque. In a blasphemous act, they also vandalised the images of the founders of Ahmadiyya community.
This is yet another establishment backed attack on Ahmadiyya’s place of worship. Ahmadiyya along with other religious minorities are vulnerable inside Pakistan. The radical Islamist who do not believe Ahmadiyya to be a sect of Islam perpetuate attacks on their places of worship. They get an ideological support from the Paki constitution which has barred Ahmadiyyas to call them Muslims. Not only the ideological support, but they also get religious support from the bigoted Sunni clerics and a legal support from the so-called law enforcement authorities, who themselves share the same thought process and are often found involved in carrying out such activities.
Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Pakistan officer Amir Mahmood recently said, “Police under the pressure of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) desecrated 74 graves of Ahmadis by destroying their tombstones in Daska city of Sialkot district of Punjab, some 100kms from Lahore.” The statement itself speaks volume about the hand in gloves of Pakistan’s police with the radical Islamists.
Notably, the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan was officially categorized as non-Muslims by constitutional decree in 1974. Furthermore, in 1984, Pakistan revoked their right to identify themselves as Muslims. It is deeply disturbing that such a flagrant infringement of human rights continues to exist in the modern world.