PR of IHRC; September 27, 2023: International Human Rights Committee issued the following press release on September 27, 2023:
IHRC/IR/220923/5
22 Sep 2023
INCIDENT REPORT
AHMADI MOSQUE IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN VANDALISED AGAIN, POLICE IDLE WHILE ASSAILANTS AT LARGE
IHRC has reported several times that a wave of bigotry against Ahmadiyya Muslims has intensified since the start of 2023. In an extremely worrying sign of growing crisis in Pakistan, more than thirty-one (31) Ahmadiyya Mosques have been desecrated in 2023.
On Sep 21st, 2023, in yet another unprovoked and violent episode, a group of extremists attacked an Ahmadiyya Muslim mosque in Karachi.
According to IHRC sources around 12.30 in the afternoon around 15-20 assailants arrived at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosque Martin Road and out of them one assailant entered the mosque while using a ladder and he opened the main gate so that the other assailants could enter the premises of the mosque. In this video1 the assailants can be seen entering and attacking the mosque.
Windows were smashed, doors broken down and lights, tables, and chairs damaged. Pictures of the holy personages of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community were also vandalised. The attackers took some of the things and the documents with them from the Ahmadiyya Muslim mosque.
This is the 5th such attack on an Ahmadiyya mosque in Karachi in the last 9 months. On 18th Jan 2023 about 8-10 men desecrated the minarets and vandalised the Mosque. No arrest was made despite cases being registered at the Jamshaid Quarters Police Station under FIR No. 29/23. Had the earlier assailants been apprehended, these recent attacks could have been prevented.
The situation is becoming more dangerous for the already marginalised Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan, as they are facing persecution at the hands of extremist elements and by the police. The acts of desecrating the minarets of the places of worship in various areas of Pakistan continue unabated. It is a new norm, and the authorities have closed their eyes.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan’s judgement (PLD 2014 SC 699), authored by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, guarantees the protection of all places of worship and instructs the police to protect places of worship. Destroying minarets is also a violation of Article 20 and the same Supreme Court verdict of 2014 (PLD 2014 SC 699).
The same Supreme Court judgement of 2014 (PLD 2014 SC 699) had asked the Government of Pakistan to form a special task force for the protection of worship places of minorities. On the contrary, an extremist agenda sponsored by the state is being pursued against the Ahmadiyya community with authorities encouraging this type of violent behaviour which defies this Supreme Court judgement of 2014 (PLD 2014 SC 699) and all norms of religious sanctimony.
Human rights groups have repeatedly expressed their deep concern over the lack of attention to the serious human rights violations perpetrated against the Ahmadiyya community around the world and called on the international community to step up efforts in bringing an end to the ongoing persecution of Ahmadis.
On July 13, 2021, UN human rights experts expressed their deep concern over the lack of attention to the serious human rights violations perpetrated against the Ahmadiyya community around the world and called on the international community to step up efforts in bringing an end to the ongoing persecution of Ahmadis.
We once again urge the international community to pressure the Government of Pakistan to honor its responsibility to provide protection to all its citizens, ensure freedom of religious practice to Ahmadis, and bring perpetrators of such vicious attacks to justice. The Government of Pakistan must also bring its laws and practices in conformity with international standards as ordained by Article 2, 18 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Article 25, 26.
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