Mob Attack Ahmadiyya Hall as Police Fail to Prevent Fatal Assault Against an Ahmadi Man
(Karachi, Pakistan) – A mob affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) surrounded the Ahmadiyya Hall in Karachi on 18 April 2025 during the Friday prayers, and killed an Ahmadi man in a targeted assault while police failed to intervene.
During the unrest, Laiq Ahmad Cheema, a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, was identified near the site and attacked approximately 150 metres from the place of worship. The mob pulled him aside after he was recognised as an Ahmadi and beat him with bricks and sticks. He died at the scene. Police were present but did not intervene, and emergency services were not called.
The attack took place under the jurisdiction of Preedy Police Station, where a mob had gathered outside Ahmadiyya Hall while the Friday prayers were under way. Worshippers inside the mosque were prevented from leaving as slogans were raised and the crowd continued to surround the building without police action to disperse those gathered.
The attack marked the third assault on Ahmadiyya Hall since early 2023. Its minarets were demolished in separate incidents on 2 February and 4 September 2023. The site had already been identified by the local Ahmadi community as high-risk, and complaints had been submitted to the authorities requesting protection, but no preventive security measures were put in place.
The assault formed part of a wider nationwide campaign that began during Ramadan 2025, in which Ahmadi Friday prayer services have been repeatedly targeted through arrests, mosque closures, criminal cases, and mob violence.
Police actions against Ahmadi worshippers in recent months have included the arrest of 22 Ahmadis in Daska for Friday prayers, the sealing of an Ahmadi mosque in Surjani Town after six worshippers were detained, and multiple criminal cases registered against congregations in Lahore, Sargodha, and other districts. The attack in Karachi marked a further escalation from criminalisation and obstruction to lethal violence.