Attack During Friday Prayers Targets Bait-ul-Mahdi at Community Headquarters
(Rabwah, Pakistan) – An armed attacker opened fire at Bait-ul-Mahdi, an Ahmadiyya place of worship in Rabwah (Chenab Nagar), District Chiniot, on 10 October 2025, injuring eight members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community during Friday prayers in one of the most serious attacks on an Ahmadi mosque in recent months.
The shooting took place at about 1.23 pm at Bait-ul-Mahdi, located in Rabwah, the administrative headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan.
According to available information, the attacker had entered Rabwah earlier in the day and parked his vehicle near the mosque in the Gol Bazaar area. He approached the main entrance shortly before Friday prayers and opened fire on Ahmadi volunteers stationed there for security duty. Four Ahmadi youths at the gate sustained gunshot wounds.
When volunteers positioned at a secondary security post responded and moved toward the attacker, he opened fire again, injuring two additional individuals. During the exchange of fire, the attacker was shot and killed.
Police took custody of the attacker’s body at the scene. The Bomb Disposal Squad inspected his vehicle, which was later seized by police. Worshippers inside the mosque were evacuated without further injury as authorities sealed roads surrounding the site and deployed a large police contingent along with Rescue 1122 and other emergency personnel.
The attacker was later identified as Sohaib bin Zaigham, a resident of Rajanpur with a temporary address in Lahore.
Eight Ahmadis were injured in the attack and were taken to Fazl-e-Umar Hospital in Rabwah. Several remained under treatment for multiple days. According to medical information, some of the injured sustained gunshot wounds to the face, abdomen, jaw, arms, and legs, with multiple victims requiring urgent surgery.
The Deputy Commissioner, District Police Officer, and Assistant Commissioner visited the site and formal investigations were initiated.
Following the attack, various religious figures publicly questioned the nature of the shooting and directed suspicion toward the Ahmadi community itself. In a video statement circulated after the attack, Maulvi Muhammad Ilyas Chinioti, associated with the Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Movement, claimed that the attacker’s age and manner of shooting were inconsistent with those of a terrorist and urged police to investigate whether Ahmadis had “fielded” the attacker themselves.
The statements drew concern because the attack directly targeted an Ahmadi mosque, left eight Ahmadi volunteers injured, and required emergency evacuation and medical treatment.
Rabwah, despite serving as the administrative headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, has repeatedly been the site of criminal cases, police action, and targeted violence against Ahmadis, including prosecutions under Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, police raids on community institutions, and earlier fatal attacks on residents.