Police take dozens of Ahmadis into ‘protective custody’

Religious rights impinged upon, alleges community’s spokesperson

STATE OF THE NATION

March 7, 2025

IN a rather bizarre incident, law enforcement personnel reportedly took into custody over two dozen members of the Ahmadi community after an angry mob gathered outside their place of worship in Karachi. 

The episode showed how certain religious groups pose serious threats to the security and welfare of members of the minority communities and the law and order situation across the country.

West Zone’s Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Irfan Ali Baloch told Dawn.com: “Several members of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) gathered outside the Ahmadi place of worship in Surjani Town, Karachi. They demanded that the Ahmadis be prevented from offering Friday prayers and using Islamic symbols. To prevent a potential law and order situation, the police took 25 Ahmadis into protective custody.”

A spokesperson for the Ahmadi community, Amir Mehmood, confirmed that the police detained 25 Ahmadis, including eight children, and took them to the Khawaja Ajmer Nagri police station.

“For a period of time, TLP workers gathered outside the worship centre, demanding the arrest and sealing of such places,” he said, adding that the community members were practising their religious rites inside closed buildings and questioned how this could be considered a “crime”.

He said that detaining Ahmadis for performing their rituals at their place of worship was a serious violation of human rights and Pakistan's Constitution, which guarantees the right to freely practice one's faith.

DIG Baloch, however, denied the spokesperson’s claims that the worshippers had been arrested. He added that the police would seek a “legal opinion” regarding the status of the place of worship.

On Tuesday, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) highlighted a growing trend of mob-led attacks on the homes of religious minorities and their places of worship.

The HRCP also raised concerns about the “arbitrary” detention of Ahmadis, the alleged desecration of their graves, and the vulnerability of Hindu and Christian women to forced conversion.

For details click here: Police take 25 Ahmadis into ‘protective custody’ as mob gathers at worship place in Karachi’s Surjani Town - Pakistan - DAWN.COM