Chak 261 R.B. Udhwali, District Faisalabad; June 17, 2021: The police accompanied by the officials of the local council came to the Ahmadiyya mosque of Chak 261 R.B. District Faisalabad on June 17, 2021 after sunset, erased Kalima (Islamic Creed), Names of Allah and Quranic verses, and demolished the minarets. They erected a wall in front of the niche to conceal it. Moreover, they destroyed sacred inscriptions from four Ahmadis’ houses.
Earlier, there had been an increase in the opposition to Ahmadis in the village for some time. The opponents held anti-Ahmadiyya gatherings and invited hostile clerics from outside. They urged destruction of the niche and minarets of the Ahmadiyya place of worship and removal of Islamic inscriptions from Ahmadi homes.
Contacts were made with authorities at different levels to solve the issue. A letter was also written to the IG Punjab.
The police arranged a meeting of the Peace Committee with Ahmadis, and as feared, the members of the Peace Committee, the AC and the SP issued a unanimous recommendation that the Kalima and the minarets should be removed. An appeal was made against the decision well in time as provided in the decision.
Unfortunately, without paying any heed to our plea, the SHO Dajkot Police Station and several policemen accompanied by around 30 workers from the council arrived well after sunset and carried out desecration and demolition work for about three hours.
During the felony, the police wore masks to hide their identity, switched off all the lights and allowed none to approach the worship place. Similarly, no one was allowed to take any picture or make a video. The police also took away some Ahmadis’ mobile phones for making video or a picture. Policemen were posted on rooftops of nearby houses to deny anyone approach the scene of the unworthy action.
At the end, the police took away some debris from the worship place and patched up the spots from where the inscriptions were removed. They also raised a wall in front of the niche of the worship place to hide it.
This is an example of the state-backed persecution of the Ahmadiyya community and a gross violation of human rights. Such attacks on worship places are directly against the landmark 2014 judgment of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani) about the protection of places of worship.
Ahmadiyya places of worship have come under attack on numerous occasions. This is in blatant violation of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and religious freedom to all citizens of Pakistan.
The police claim that they undertake this shameful activity under law and Constitution; the question arises, if it is so lawful and constitutional why do they always undertake it in dark hours and make sure nobody prepares its video.
