Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court has left in place a ban on Ruhani Khazain, a 23-volume collection of the writings of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, following a ruling on 8 September.
A two-judge bench headed by Justice Aamer Farooq dismissed petitions challenging the 2014 ban, largely on procedural grounds, while holding that the constitutional right to religious freedom was subject to law, public order and morality.
The ruling means Ahmadis remain prohibited from printing and publishing Ruhani Khazain, one of the principal collections of the writings of the founder of their community.
The case is the latest in a series of legal restrictions affecting Ahmadi religious literature in Pakistan, where members of the community can face criminal prosecution over the publication and distribution of their religious material.
In 2015, Abdul Shakoor, an Ahmadi bookseller, was arrested after authorities raided his bookshop in Rabwah. He was subsequently convicted and imprisoned in a case involving the sale of Ahmadi publications.
Pakistan’s constitution guarantees every citizen the right to profess, practise and propagate their religion, subject to law, public order and morality. Ahmadis, however, are also subject to laws that restrict them from identifying themselves as Muslims and from using a range of Islamic terminology and practices.
The court’s decision leaves the 2014 prohibition on Ruhani Khazain in force, continuing restrictions on the publication and circulation of Ahmadi religious writings in Pakistan.
