Lahore, Mar 4 (PTI) The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Tuesday released a report which highlights the alarming scale of state-led and mob-driven persecution against religious minorities, especially the Ahmadi community.

The report titled 'Under Siege Freedom of Religion or Belief 2023-24' documents a pattern of systemic oppression, including arbitrary arrests, desecration of graves, and violent crackdowns on the community's religious practices.

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A key finding of the report is the increasing weaponization of blasphemy laws against Ahmadis, often initiated by law enforcement officials themselves.

The report notes that at least four First Information Reports (FIRs) against Ahmadis in Punjab were filed by police officers, reflecting an institutional bias against the community.

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In a disturbing escalation, authorities in Punjab and Sindh conducted mass arrests of Ahmadis under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, with at least 36 Ahmadi men detained for observing Eid-ul-Adha rituals.

The report also highlights the growing influence of extremist groups in driving state policies against Ahmadis.

It documents how members of the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) played a direct role in filing blasphemy cases against Ahmadis, orchestrating campaigns to prevent their Eid-ul-Adha celebrations, and even participating in police raids to confiscate sacrificial meat.

"Disturbingly, videos circulating on social media show TLP activists alongside law enforcement personnel raiding Ahmadi households, reinforcing the complicity of state actors in religious persecution."

Grave desecration remains a recurring violation against the community. The report reveals that in 2023 and 2024, numerous Ahmadiyya cemeteries across Punjab and Sindh were attacked, with police and district authorities actively participating in some instances.

Additionally, at least 42 attacks on Ahmadi places of worship were recorded in the reporting period, with nearly 60 per cent of these either conducted or supervised by law enforcement agencies.

"The persecution of Ahmadis is not incidental but part of a deliberate strategy to exclude the community from public life. The Pakistani state has not only failed to curb extremist violence but has actively facilitated it, creating an environment where hate speech, religious discrimination, and faith-based violence occur with complete impunity," it says.

The HRCP has recommended that the federal and provincial governments must hold to account individuals who incite hatred and violence against minorities.

District authorities and law enforcement arbitrary raids, arrests and intimidation of Ahmadis must cease immediately. Law enforcement must stop being complicit in the vandalism of Ahmadiyya places of worship and burial sites.

Authorities must stop putting the onus on persecuted groups to maintain religious harmony and social order.

"The findings of this report underscore an urgent human rights crisis. Human Rights stakeholders must not remain silent as Pakistan continues to escalate its systematic persecution of Ahmadis and other religious minorities. Immediate diplomatic and policy interventions are needed to hold Pakistan accountable for its obligations under international human rights law," the HRCP says.

Pakistan's Parliament in 1974 declared the Ahmadi community as non-Muslims. A decade later, they were banned from calling themselves Muslims. They are banned from preaching and from travelling to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage.

In Pakistan, around 10 million out of the 220 million population are non-Muslims.

According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in 2021, there are 96.47 per cent Muslims, followed by 2.14 per cent Hindus, 1.27 per cent Christians, 0.09 per cent Ahmadi Muslims and 0.02 per cent others.

The minorities in conservative Muslim-majority Pakistan often complain of harassment by the extremists.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)