A man was allegedly lynched when a few hundred workers of a religiopolitical party stormed a place of worship belonging to the Ahmadi community in Karachi’s Saddar area on Friday to prevent it from observing religious rituals, according to the police.
A statement from Ahmadi community spokesperson Amir Mehmood said there were around 40 members inside who had gathered to perform their religious rites.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said: “[Around] 400 Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers gathered at the hall near the mobile market.”
He said the police were already deployed there in the wake of similar incidents in Shah Latif, Surjani and Khokhrapar areas of the metropolis. Dig Raza said the police, rangers and district administration took swift action and provided protection to the Ahmadi community members present inside the place of worship.
However, he said that an incident occurred near the auto parts market, located near the community hall, where “a man was allegedly beaten up by the TLP workers,” adding that he was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The DIG said the Ahmadi community claimed the deceased as their member who was associated with the place of worship. “The police are ascertaining the veracity of the claims while CCTV footage is also being obtained,” he said.
DIG Raza added the law-enforcing personnel had dispersed the TLP workers, but around 100 were also present there and demanding the registration of a first information report against the Ahmadi community members for performing their religious rituals.
Last month, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it had observed a growing trend of mob-led attacks on homes of families belonging to religious minorities, as well as their places of worship.
The HRCP also spoke of Ahmadis’ “arbitrary detention”, “desecration of their graves” and the “vulnerability of Hindu and Christian women” to forced conversion.
The report, titled Under Siege: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2023-24, said over 750 persons were in prison on charges of blasphemy, as of October last year. It documented at least four faith-based killings, three of which targeted the Ahmadi community.
A key finding of the report is that disinformation on social media was the spark behind most of the registered blasphemy cases.
HRCP observed an “increasing weaponisation of blasphemy laws against Ahmadis”, with cases often initiated by law enforcement officials themselves.
