By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Police have registered two cases against 300 people on terrorism charges after mobs set fire to two worship places belonging to the Ahmadi community in the eastern city of Faisalabad on the eve of Independence Day, officials said.
The attacks, led by a local leader of the hardline Islamist party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), left several people injured and heightened fears over religious intolerance in the Muslim-majority country.
Local police filed the cases under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, as well as sections 295, 425, 446, 380, 148 and 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), according to first information reports (FIRs). As many as 47 men were nominated in the cases, while 300 others remain unidentified.
According to the FIRs, TLP ticket-holder Hafiz Rafaqat led the mob, which was armed with rods and bricks. The attackers gathered outside one of the larger Ahmadi worship places and pelted it with bricks. Members of the community who tried to resist were severely beaten, leaving several injured.
The mob, under the cover of Independence Day processions, delivered hate speeches and incited violence against the Ahmadiyya community. At 275-Kartarpur, they targeted two Ahmadi worship places, tearing down the minarets and completely setting them ablaze. These worship places had been built before 1984. The attackers also targeted nearby Ahmadi homes, hurling stones that shattered windows and terrified families, injuring several residents.
Ahmadiyya community spokesperson Aamir Mahmood condemned the attacks, stating that community members had been celebrating Independence Day when the mob struck. “This is not the freedom Pakistan’s founders envisioned. Until those who commit such acts face justice, intolerance will grow. Authorities must act swiftly to protect all citizens,” he said.
Mahmood demanded strict action against the people involved in the attack and called for adequate protection for the Ahmadiyya community.
Police official said 25 people had been arrested in the case and efforts were underway to arrest the rest. The police official did not reveal the names of the arrested persons and confirm whether they were among the nominated suspects.
The incident came just a day after the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) deplored recent derogatory remarks made by a cleric against places of worship belonging to non-Muslim communities, including Christians. “We urge the state to ensure accountability for hate speech in all its forms by implementing the 2014 Supreme Court judgement and call on civil society to reject narratives that endanger peaceful coexistence and equal citizenship,” the HRCP said in a statement.
Pakistan’s Ahmadi community, declared non-Muslims by parliament in 1974, has long faced discrimination and violence from hardline groups who accuse them of blasphemy. TLP, known for its campaigns against alleged blasphemy, has been involved in previous protests that have paralysed major cities.
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