Karachi police said on Friday that five suspects had been arrested for allegedly vandalising an Ahmadiyya place of worship in the city’s Saddar area a day earlier.

South SSP Syed Asad Raza said that five suspects had been arrested, adding that Preedy police had registered a first information report (FIR) on the complaint of Sabahat Ahmed, a member of the Ahmadiyya community.

The FIR was registered under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 427 (mischief causing damage amounting to Rs50), 295 (harming or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult a religion), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The FIR said that at around 3:35pm on Thursday, 10-15 people attacked the Ahmadiyya place of worship located at Magazine Line, Saddar.

“The suspects climbed the front of the building, and destroyed and defiled minarets that were around 78-years-old as well as the facade,” it said.

“The suspects instigated people present by shouting slogans about killing members of Ahmadiyya community,” it added.

The FIR said that a police van/picket was next to the place of worship and the police took steps to stop the attack during which one official was injured. “A large number of people gathered which turned into a mob attack,” the FIR said.