Islamabad, Sep 21 — A leading minority rights organisation on Monday has expressed grave concern over the relentless targeting of Ahmadis in Pakistan, where violence, intimidation and mob activity have followed them from the workplace to places of worship and their homes, with attackers allegedly emboldened by the climate of impunity.
Highlighting the escalating atrocities against the Ahmadiyya community, the Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM) said that two Ahmadi Muslims — Malik Mahmood Mubarak, 70, and his son Ayaz, 40 — were shot in Sargodha district of Punjab province on September 19, while travelling back home. The rights body noted that both survived, but no arrests have been reported.
It said that police registered a first information report the following day under the Pakistan Penal Code, after the victims were taken to District Headquarters Hospital.
Citing witnesses, it said that the attackers fled on an unregistered motorcycle, while the complainant said that he would be able to identify the assailants if brought forward.
“Yet in a climate where faith‑based killings rarely end in convictions, an FIR reads less like justice and more like paperwork. The Ahmadiyya Community has called for immediate protection, arrests and concrete measures to prevent further attacks,” the VOPM noted.
The latest attack came days after Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court upheld a Punjab ban on Rohani Khazayeen, a 23‑volume collection of writings by the Ahmadiyya founder, dismissing petitions that argued the ban violated constitutional religious freedom.
“The court held that religious freedom is subject to law, public policy and morality, and left the 2014 forfeiture in place. For a community already criminalised for professing its faith, the message is stark: even sacred texts can be seized, while sacred lives remain unprotected,” the VOPM stated.
Weeks before the latest shooting, on September 2, 65-year-old Mirza Safdar Mahmood was killed near Kot Ahmad Shah area in Mandi Bahauddin city of Punjab while travelling to an Ahmadi place of worship.
Stressing that impunity is not an accident but a policy choice, the VOPM said: “Pakistan must protect Ahmadi citizens, investigate every attack promptly, prosecute perpetrators under international standards, and provide remedies to victims. It must also review laws and administrative measures that enable discrimination and incitement, including the forfeiture of religious publications. Until then, every bullet that misses today will be read as a promise for tomorrow.”
Earlier this month, the United Nations experts voiced serious concern over continued discrimination, violence, and legal restrictions targeting members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan, while calling on authorities to ensure their safety and uphold the country's international human rights commitments.