Pakistan: Experts urge immediate end to discrimination and violence against Ahmadis

GENEVA – A group of independent experts* today expressed grave concern regarding a reported upsurge in discrimination and violence against Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, attacks on places of worship and curtailment of free expression, peaceful assembly and association.

“We are alarmed by ongoing reports of violence and discrimination against the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan. We urge Pakistani authorities to take immediate action to address this situation,” the experts said. “Urgent measures are necessary to respond to these violent attacks and the broader atmosphere of hatred and discrimination which feeds it.”

The experts highlighted specific incidents over recent months, including the extrajudicial killing of two Ahmadis in Saad Ullah Pur on 8 July 2024, and the President of the Bahwalpur Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on 4 March 2024. They noted that an alarming number of attacks on Ahmadi places of worship and cemeteries have been reported since the beginning of 2024, some of which had resulted in serious injury to worshippers. “The Ahmadiyya community, their places of worship and cemeteries, must be given effective protection from attacks and vandalism,” the experts said.

They also expressed concern regarding alleged arbitrary arrests and detentions of Ahmadi worshippers over their religious holiday period, to prevent or obstruct their participation in their religious practices.

“Ahmadis’ right to peacefully manifest their beliefs must be respected. Discriminatory arrests and detentions which prevent religion or belief observance represent serious violations of their human rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. “Judicial harassment serves to normalise violence against Ahmadis by non-State actors,” the experts said.

The violations are considered to reflect an atmosphere of widespread hostility towards Ahmadis in Pakistan. The experts commended the adoption of a resolution on 23 June 2024, by the Pakistan National Assembly, which strongly urged Federal and Provincial Governments to ensure the safety and security of all citizens of Pakistan, including religious minorities.

“The Resolution by the National Assembly is a welcome step. However, such good-faith efforts to counter discriminatory discourse will be ineffective unless they address its structural drivers,” the experts said. “These include blasphemy laws and discriminatory legal provisions which situate Ahmadis, their legal representatives and allies, and other religion or belief minorities, in grave danger of human rights violations.”

In light of its forthcoming second review under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the experts urged Pakistan to implement recommendations by the Human Rights Committee subsequent to its first review in 2017. These recommendations include the repeal or amendment of blasphemy laws to ensure compliance with the ICCPR, and bringing to justice those who incite or engage in violence against others based on allegations of blasphemy.

The experts have written to the Government of Pakistan and raised these concerns. “We stand ready and willing to support the Pakistani Government in the effective implementation of its obligations under the ICCPR and other international human rights instruments,” the experts said.