Repression of minority Ahmadiyya witnesses surge in 2025
Photo: @AADIL for ADN
By Rahmatullah Achakzai
The persecution of the Ahmadiyya community, a religious minority in Pakistan, has seen a surge in 2025. It continued to remain vulnerable to discrimination, persecution and violence, not just from hardliner extremists but the law enforcement agencies as well.
Several Ahmadiyyas were killed while thousands of them were harassed and their places of worship desecrated. Shockingly, law enforcement agencies were found to have participated in the repression rather than protecting the rights of the minority community.
Interestingly, when Pakistan was celebrating its Independence Day this year on August 14, Ahmadiyyas living in Faisalabad were harassed by a mob. Stones were thrown at their houses; several were beaten with sticks and bricks, and two Ahmadiyya mosques were set on fire.[1]
According to data prepared by the Ahmadiyya community, 269 Ahmadiyya graves were desecrated until July this year, while over 50 mosques were desecrated since 2023. In 2025, at least three Ahmadiyyas were murdered by the extremists, while the number was six in 2024.[2] The second quarter of 2025 was the worst for Ahmadiyyas living in Pakistan, according to the UK-based International Human Rights Desk.[3][4]
Amnesty International found the violence against Ahmadiyyas also escalated during this year’s Eid al-Adha, thanks to the direct and indirect support of the Pakistani authorities.
“Not only are local authorities and local enforcement agencies across Pakistan failing to protect Ahmadis, they are themselves actively restricting their rights to freedom of belief and religion. In fact, (they) actively discriminated and harassed Ahmadi individuals through detention orders, criminal cases and orders placing restrictions on the community’s right to freedom of belief and religion,” said Isabelle Lassée, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International.[5]
Ahmadiyyas were forced to sign an affidavit that they would not perform Eid rituals, failing to which would attract a fine of PKR 500,000.[6] It is not just security forces but other departments too found to be engaged in the repression of Ahmadiyyas.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) blocked websites with content about Ahmadiyyas; Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) put restrictions on broadcasting on Ahmadiyya channels, while the education department created hurdles for schools and institutions run by Ahmadiyyas.[7]
In 1974, the Pakistani government officially declared Ahmadis as non-Muslims through legal means. This not only barred the Ahmadiyya community from openly expressing and practising their beliefs, but it also drove the majority Sunni and Shia Muslims to humiliate and persecute them, as well as to attack their properties.
A UK government assessment report highlighted Ahmadiyya’s vulnerability to prosecution under blasphemy laws and specific anti-Ahmadi laws, even as Pakistani police have often found complicity in the violence against this minority community.
“Effective protection is limited due to restrictive legislation against Ahmadis who are reluctant to report incidents due to potential blasphemy charges,” reads the report.[8]
Famous gastroenterologist and hepatologist, Dr Shaikh Mahmood, was killed in June 2025 just because he was an Ahmadiyya.[9][10] After the killings of a few of its members, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community issued an official statement:
“In all cases, the authorities either failed to act or actively participated in the violence. The attacks in 2025 are rooted in decades of state-backed persecution. Without immediate action and accountability, the Pakistani state is inviting further bloodshed. Ahmadis are denied the most basic guarantees of life, autonomy and religious freedom in Pakistan.”[11]
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), a nonprofit, released a report earlier in 2025 which called the increasing violence against Ahmadiyyas “concerning” over grave desecration, a weaponization of blasphemy laws, and arbitrary raids, arrests and intimidation by government agencies.
“Hundreds and thousands of Ahmadiyya have been barred from praying in congregation due to discriminatory anti-Ahmadiyya laws. However, worship site vandalism appears to appease the hardliner clergy and creates a climate of fear among the community. Hundreds of Ahmadiyya graves were desecrated across. The police were directly engaged in four of these incidents,” reads the HRCP report.[12]
The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) slammed the Pakistan government as an “unprecedented wave” of anti-Ahmadiyya persecution escalated in Pakistan.
“Ahmadi citizens face unprecedented threats to their religious freedom and right to life itself. No one can deny or ignore an intensifying pattern of religious persecution and violence that threatens the freedom and safety of hundreds of thousands of peaceful Pakistani citizens from violence by extremists,” it said.[13]
IHRC blamed the Pakistani government for conspiring with the extremists in the persecution of Ahmadiyyas.
Rahmatullah Achakzai is a journalist based in Balochistan, covering human rights, regional politics, and cross-border issues.
Note: The contents of the article are of sole responsibility of the author. Afghan Diaspora Network will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in the articles.
[1] https://stopthepersecution.org/mob-violence-erupts-against-ahmadi-muslims-on-pakistans-independence-day/
[2] https://verfolgung.ahmadiyya.de/files/Annual-Report-2024—IHRD.pdf
[3] https://voicepk.net/2025/08/ahmadi-community-faced-worst-situation-between-april-to-june-2025/
[4] https://verfolgung.ahmadiyya.de/files/Annual-Report-2024—IHRD.pdf
[5] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/06/the-ahmadis-deserve-to-practice-their-religion-and-celebrate-eid-without-fear-for-their-safety-and-liberty/
[6] https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/international/news/ban-ahmadiyya-muslims-celebrating-eid-pakistan-forced-affidavits-fine-5-lakh-135171888.html
[7] https://stopthepersecution.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Monthly-Persecution-Update-May-2024.pdf
[8] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pakistan-country-policy-and-information-notes/country-policy-and-information-note-ahmadis-pakistan-march-2025-accessible
[9] https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-police-ahmadi-killing-3dfd2ca46eec5e51f007f6fcdf3555a7
[10] https://forbinfull.org/2025/05/29/pakistan-must-be-made-to-end-its-decades-long-tolerance-and-encouragement-of-the-violent-persecution-of-the-ahmadiyya-community/
[11] https://www.atalayar.com/en/articulo/society/the-attack-in-bhulair-is-part-of-campaign-of-intensified-violence-against-ahmadis/20250429170000214110.html
[12] https://hrcp-web.org/hrcpweb/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2025-Under-siege-EN.pdf
[13] https://hrcommittee.org/2025/03/11/unprecedented-wave-of-anti-ahmadiyya-persecution-escalates-in-pakistan-mosques-under-urgent-threat/
