At least 36 members of the minority Ahmadi sect, considered non-Muslim in the country, have been arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of sacrificing animals during Eid al-Adha, a sect leader said on Tuesday.
The Pakistan Ahmadiyya Association, which represents the country’s minority community, strongly protested against authorities preventing Ahmadis from performing religious rituals in their homes during Eid.
“At least 36 members of the minority Ahmadi sect have been arrested, mainly in Punjab, for offering sacrificial animals for Eid-ul-Adha slaughter,” Amir Mahmood, a senior official of the Pakistan Ahmadiyya Community, told PTI.
He said the extremist Islamist party Tehreek-e-Rabiq Pakistan (TLP) was stoking hatred against Ahmadis and pressuring police to prevent members of the minority community from performing their religious rituals.
“Preventing Ahmadis from performing their religious rituals within the four walls of their churches is a gross violation of their human rights as well as a clear violation of the rulings of the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” he said.
Mahmood said Ahmadis are being harassed across the country, especially in Punjab, not just by extremists but also by law enforcement agencies.
He said police had not only detained Ahmadi devotees but also the sacrificial animals.
Mahmood also said that in some areas Ahmadis were being pressured not to offer Eid prayers on Monday.
“Instead of protecting Ahmadis from harassment and violence, police authorities are summoning Ahmadi leaders to various police stations and threatening them with imminent danger from the TLP if any Ahmadis are found performing ‘Qurbani’ or offering Eid prayers,” he said.
“It is learnt that intelligence agencies have also issued a threat alert against Ahmadis on the occasion of Eid,” he said.
The Pakistan Ahmadiyya Association demanded the immediate release of Ahmadis detained on Eid and urged the authorities to take steps to guarantee their religious freedom.
Minorities in Pakistan, especially Ahmadis, are highly vulnerable and often targeted by religious extremists.
Although Ahmadis consider themselves Muslim, Pakistan’s parliament declared them non-Muslim in 1974. A decade later, they were not only banned from calling themselves Muslim, but also from practicing many aspects of Islam.
These include constructing or displaying symbols that identify one as Muslim, such as building minarets or domes on mosques or publicly writing verses from the Quran.
First uploaded: 18 Jun 2024 22:22 IST
