Kot Diyaldas, District Nankana Sahib; January 2021: A person named Muhammad Asghar submitted a petition to DSP Nankana against the niche and minaret of Ahmadiyya worship place. This move culminated in destruction of the niche, although the law does not forbid niche in Ahmadiyya worship places.
Subsequent to the hostile petition, Ahmadis were told to appear in the DSP’s office on January 8, 2020 to clarify their stance.
Therefore, a delegation of eight local Ahmadis visited the DSP’s office, where they met the SHO of the concerned area and four officers of the Special Branch. During the meeting, the DSP said that the minarets and niche of Kot Diyaldas worship place would be demolished, and told Ahmadis to cooperate. Ahmadis said that this place of worship was built before Ordinance XX was promulgated, and this law cannot be applied to it. The local Ahmadi community president suggested to the police officers that a wall can be built outside the place of worship of Ahmadis to cover up the niche.
At first, the police officers agreed to the Ahmadis’ proposal. However, then a special branch officer said that by doing so, the minarets would still be there, and someone would submit an application again, so these should be removed. At the time, Ahmadis told the police officers that they would inform them later after further consideration.
On January 15, the police raided the Ahmadiyya worship place and told Ahmadis to demolish the niche. Ahmadis said that they would not do that. Ahmadis urged the officials to go by the law, but they had their own considerations.
The police then tore down the niche with the help of some labour. The SHO of the area visited the premises and took pictures of the worship place’s demolished parts.
