An Ahmadiyya place of worship was attacked and desecrated by over 150 Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) extremist men in Kotli district of Pak-occupied Jammu and Kashmir on the first day of Eid al-Adha.
The assailants opened fire and destroyed the minarets and arches of their place of worship in the early hours of Monday.
This attack comes on the heels of another concerning incident where three Ahmadi community members from Punjab’s Chakwal district were detained earlier this month “to avoid any likelihood of breach of peace”.
The detainees, including the community’s Chakwal district president Malik Naveed Ahmad, were held under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1961 and lodged in Jhelum jail. The orders described them as “miscreants” and aimed to prevent them from “unlawful activities and acting in a manner prejudicial to the public safety” – a thinly veiled reference to their intended animal sacrifice on Eid al-Adha.
The Ahmadiyya community, considered non-Muslim by Pakistan’s constitution, has long been a target of persecution and hate crimes in the country. These latest incidents have once again brought to light the precarious situation faced by religious minorities in Pakistan.