Doctor shot dead in Punjab in suspected religious attack

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: A senior physician from the persecuted Ahmadiyya community was shot dead on Friday in broad daylight in a city in eastern Punjab in an apparent act of faith-based violence against religious minorities.

Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Mahmood, 58, a gastroenterologist at Sargodha’s Fatima Hospital, was ambushed outside the medical facility by a shooter disguised in the uniform of a provincial sanitation campaign.

The assailant fired twice into Mahmood’s back before fleeing on a motorcycle with an accomplice, Dawn newspaper reported, quoting a police report.

“We cannot comment on whether the doctor was targeted on a religious basis or for some other reason as it would be premature to say,” Sargodha District Police Officer Sohaib Ashraf told Dawn, confirming an investigation was underway.

Ashraf said authorities had identified one suspect but provided no further details.

A relative of Mahmood, who witnessed the attack, detailed the killing in a First Information Report (FIR) filed at Shahid Shaheed Police Station. The complainant said the gunman approached the doctor around 2:35 p.m., declared, “I won’t spare you today Mahmood,” and opened fire.

When the relative pursued the attacker, the assailant pointed his weapon at him before escaping.

Amir Mahmood, a spokesperson for the Ahmadi community, said the doctor had faced repeated threats from extremists over his faith, forcing him to relocate his practice.

“He was a very charitable person and had no enmity with anyone,” Mahmood said in a statement, alleging the murder was part of a “systematic wave” of violence.

He cited three Ahmadi deaths in the past month alone, including a businessman lynched by a mob in Karachi in April and two Ahmadis attacked in Kasur in May.

The spokesperson accused hard-line groups in Sargodha of stoking anti-Ahmadi sentiment through fabricated legal cases and hate speech aimed at curtailing religious practices.

“The continuous increase in hate incidents against Ahmadis is condemnable. The higher authorities should take notice of these incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice according to the law.”