SIALKOT, PAKISTAN – Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province have registered a case under anti-terrorism and severe criminal statutes against a mob involved in an attack on the Ahmadi community, marking another incident in the growing wave of religiously motivated violence against minority groups in the country.
The First Information Report (FIR), registered at the Moutra police station on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Amir Ali Sindhu, details charges against an estimated 200 to 250 individuals armed with weapons and sticks. The charges invoke multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including (dacoity), (assault on a public servant), (mischief by fire), (promoting enmity), (outraging religious feelings), and (attempt to commit murder), alongside Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
According to the complainant, he and other police personnel were patrolling security arrangements when they received reports around 8 p.m. that individuals were inciting the public against the Ahmadi community in Piro Chak village, leading to a large crowd gathering, looting, and setting properties ablaze.
“When I reached the spot, around 200-250 people armed with weapons and sticks were present there,” the officer stated in the FIR. He recounted that upon seeing the police, the mob charged at them and managed to snatch weapons from two of the policemen. Due to the small number of officers, immediate control of the mob was impossible, necessitating a call for reinforcements. The report notes that the incident spread a sense of “terror” among local residents.
Initial findings suggest the unrest stemmed from an incident on September 21, when an Ahmadi woman died in the village, but her burial was allegedly not permitted at the local graveyard. This incident, the FIR states, was followed by the promotion of “hatred on basis of religion and enmity,” leading to a severe deterioration of law and order.
Meanwhile, Faisal Shehzad, the District Police Officer (DPO) for Sialkot, confirmed that eight people were injured in the incident. The DPO stated that five of the injured were from the Ahmadi community, one of whom sustained a gunshot wound, and three belonged to the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) political-religious group. He elaborated that the dispute over the graveyard escalated into the torture of Ahmadi community members and the subsequent burning of two to three of their farmhouses and a shop. The DPO confirmed that a separate case would be registered against the TLP members involved.
The latest violence follows similar attacks in recent months. Less than a month ago, people were booked on terrorism charges for setting two Ahmadi places of worship on fire in Faisalabad. The Ahmadi community, which identifies as Muslim but was declared non-Muslim in Pakistan’s constitution, has long been subjected to systemic persecution and violent attacks by hardline religious groups.
