Pakistan: HRCP report shows alarming spike in violence against minorities

Launched at the seminar, the HRCP’s report, Streets of Fear: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2024/25, documents a deeply troubling year for religious freedom and minority rights in Pakistan, reported Dawn News.

The report showcased the rise in attacks on religious minorities, which include Ahmadis.

The report also draws attention to persistent forced conversions and underage marriages of Hindu and Christian girls in Punjab and Sindh, exposing the systematic failure to enforce child marriage restraint laws, reported Dawn News.

The report was revealed at a time when police have registered two cases against 300 people on terrorism charges after they allegedly set an Ahmadi community worship place on fire in Pakistan's Faisalabad city on Wednesday.

The incident occurred a day before Pakistan celebrated Independence Day.

As many as 47 men were nominated, while 300 others remain unidentified in both cases. The cases were registered under Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and sections 295, 425, 446, 380, 148 and 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), reported Dawn News.

According to the FIRs, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) ticket-holder Hafiz Rafaqat led the mob, which was armed with rods and bricks, the Pakistani leading newspaper reported.

The attackers reportedly assembled outside the worship place and pelted it with bricks.

Several members of the community who tried to resist the attackers were beaten up.

According to reports, the mob, under the cover Independence Day procession, delivered hate speeches and even incited violence against the community.

At 275-Kartarpur, the mob targeted two Ahmadi worship places and even tore down the minarets.

Both the worship places were set on fire.

The mob reportedly targeted Ahmadi homes located close to the worship places.

Ahmadiyya community spokesperson Aamir Mahmoodhas condemned the incident.