Unsettling atrocities

A minority Ahmadi community spokesperson in Pakistan disclosed on September 26 that their places of worship and graveyards were perilously attacked as part of a recent onslaught on religious hate crimes which seems unabated. Meanwhile, there has been an exponential rise in anti-Ahmadi hate campaigns as a continuous process. As per the latest available statistics, 74 Ahmadi graves were vandalised in the eastern city of Daska in Punjab province just last week — in addition to the demolition of minarets in two Ahmadi places of worship near Lahore.

To put things in perspective, Ahmadis are a Muslim religious sect that was founded in the 19th century. They believe that their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the promised Messiah. In 1974, the Pakistan government declared that they were non-Muslims; and therefore, they have always faced widespread discrimination and persecution in Pakistan, which has now become a recurring phenomenon.

In the meantime, there have been protests demanding that the police and administrative officials should be held accountable for the destruction of Ahmadi religious structures and graves, as well as the far-right religious party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which is singularly accused of threatening the local administration with ‘serious consequences’ if the minarets of Ahmadi places of worship are not destroyed by end of the month.

Furthermore, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) released a post in social media, stating that at least 34 coordinated attacks against the Ahmadi community and their holy sites have been ongoing since January this year. The HRCP called on the government to stand against any individual or group that attacks Ahmadis and destroys their religious sites. The HRCP also urged the Pakistani government to immediately assign special police units to protect these sites in accordance with the 2014 Jillani judgement. It may be recalled that the 2014 Jillani judgement is a landmark Supreme Court ruling that legally protects the rights of religious minorities and promotes religious tolerance, as authorised by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Tassaduq Hussain Jillani. However, the persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan goes beyond desecration of their graves and religious sites. They are now at serious risk of violent attacks including fatalities.

According to data compiled by members of the Ahmadi community, at least three Ahmadis were killed over their faith in 2022, while another 108 people were targeted. This is also independently corroborated by media group Al Jazeera. Additionally, community members claim that at least 14 mosques and 197 graves pertaining to the community were desecrated last year.

Also, on their part, a Daska-based police official denied the recent allegation of police’s involvement in desecrating Ahmadi graves, and claimed that the police are ensuring that law and order is maintained in the city ahead of celebrations of the Prophet’s birthday. However, this claim is hollow and is not based on any facts. It is worth recapitulating that the 5,00,000-member Ahmadi community is a religious minority in Pakistan, which considers itself Muslim, but was officially declared “non-Muslim” in 1974 through an amendment to the Constitution.

Significantly, a decade later, under the dictatorship of former military ruler Zia-ul-Haq, a ruling barred the Ahmadis from “posing as Muslims” and disallowed them from publicly referring to themselves as Muslims. They were banned from practicing aspects of the Islamic faith or publicly displaying any symbol that identified them as Muslims, including building minarets or domes on mosques, or publicly writing verses from the Quran.

Importantly, and most crucially, the TLP brought out a rally on September 26, which was full of hate speech against the Ahmadis, while the administration quietly watched it all unfold.

It may be underscored that the persecution of minorities in Pakistan is nothing new. It keeps happening at regular intervals. Others who are systematically targeted are the Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and the Shias. The zealots are so acrimonious that they attack mosques and other places of worship, and even murder people from other faiths, merely on the suspicion of blasphemy. Cases such as one pertaining to a Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi, and the killing of Priyantha Kumara — Sri Lankan business executive — on false or exaggerated allegations of sacrilege, have become more a routine than an exception.

Politically, Pakistan is not very stable, as the government is feebly functioning as a ‘caretaker’ under an amateur prime minister who is already being blamed for being an incompetent head. The country’s foreign policy and diplomatic dealings are under the scanner for Pakistan being systematically alienated in the global fraternity. Economic turmoil has further added to the already existing woes.

Zealous outfits like the TLP have not been reined in as yet; nor are there any visible signs of controlling the communal and intolerant forces. Against this backdrop, the Islamic radicals continue to have an upper hand over the government which remains a mute spectator. This trend leads analysts to assume that complicity of a segment in the government cannot be ruled out altogether. This is further emboldening the religious extremists setting a regressive road ahead.

Unless this pattern is effectively checked, it would drift into full-fledged terror and, as it is, the country is already afflicted with intermittent terror assaults. Therefore, the future looks fraught with despair and hopelessness, and peace appears distant, with the fanatics having an edge over the security and political establishment.

The writer is a retired IPS officer, Adviser NatStrat, and a former National Security Advisor in Mauritius. Views expressed are personal