A panel of UN-backed independent experts has expressed grave concern over rampant discrimination and violence against the minority Ahmadi community in Pakistan. The experts, working under a Human Rights Council mandate, issued a statement on Thursday urging Pakistani authorities to take immediate action to ensure the protection of Ahmadis. They expressed alarm at reports of violence and discrimination against the Ahmadis, who follow Ahmadiyya, an Islamic messianic movement originating in the late 19th century.
The experts highlighted two incidents earlier this month where two Ahmadis were killed. While police claimed to have arrested the attackers, the experts remain concerned about the broader pattern of violence. Their statement also expressed concern over allegations of arbitrary arrests and detentions of Ahmadi worshippers, aimed at preventing or obstructing their participation in religious holidays. They emphasized that Ahmadis’ right to peacefully manifest their beliefs must be respected.
Pakistan’s Parliament declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974, a decision that has led to repeated targeting by Islamic extremists. This persecution has drawn condemnation from both domestic and international human rights groups. The Ahmadiyyas believe that the Messiah Ghulam Ahmad lived after Islam’s prophet Muhammad and insist that they are part of Islam. However, since their declaration as non-Muslims, they have faced both legal and social discrimination in Pakistan, with attacks on their properties increasing significantly over the past decade.
The Islamization of Pakistan, which political analysts argue began during former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s government in the 1970s, culminated in the 1980s under former military dictator General Zia ul-Haq’s draconian regime. It was during Haq’s era that Ahmadis were banned from calling themselves Muslims. They were also barred from opening mosques in the country, and existing places of worship were brutally shut down or desecrated by hard-line Islamists with state support. According to Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights, more than 280 Ahmadis were killed in targeted violence from 1984 to September 2023. Another 415 faced assaults, 51 Ahmadia worship places were damaged, 39 were set on fire, 18 were forcibly occupied, and 46 others were sealed by authorities.
The atrocities go beyond Pakistan. Interestingly, Pakistan is not the only Muslim-majority country where Ahmadis face systematic persecution. In South Asia, Bangladeshi Ahmadis also face discrimination. A similar situation exists in Indonesia, where most of the country’s 200 million Muslims are Sunnis. There are an estimated 100,000 Shiites and 400,000 Ahmadis, who were declared “deviant” by Indonesia’s top Islamic body in 2008. Ahmadi leaders in Indonesia have consistently complained that members of the community have been intimidated and terrorized since 2005, with their prayers and activities banned in several areas across the country. Adding to their plight, Ahmadis cannot even seek legal redress in Indonesia if they are discriminated against on religious grounds.
