FREEDOM to profess one’s faith is guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan. However, for the country’s Ahmadi minority, this freedom is severely curtailed, and instead, the group is faced with intense persecution. One example of this ugly bigotry manifested itself in Karachi recently, when an Ahmadi place of worship in Saddar was attacked by a mob. In a highly disturbing video purportedly capturing the incident, individuals can be seen attacking the building and tearing down parts of it while shouting slogans. This is not the first such incident; a similar attack targeting an Ahmadi facility took place last month, in Karachi’s Martin Quarters area. The sad fact is that there is a long history of Ahmadi persecution in this country. Members of the community have been murdered in targeted killings, there have been calls for an economic boycott of the group, while gravestones of community members have also been desecrated. Perhaps the most brutal attacks in recent memory were the ones in 2010 targeting two places of worship in Lahore, which resulted in nearly 100 fatalities. It is not difficult to understand what breeds this hatred, as there are groups and individuals in this country whose sole aim appears to be persecution of Ahmadis, particularly by misusing the blasphemy laws against the community.

The problem is that if violent extremism is allowed to fester even after devouring whole communities, one day the obscurantists will come for everyone who does not agree with their blinkered worldview. The bloodbath in Peshawar’s Police Lines is a clear example of this terrifying possibility. At least five people have been held for attacking the Ahmadi facility in Saddar. However, the bigger task for the state is to provide protection to the community at large, while working to extricate radicalism from society. The latter is a particularly tall order, when the state itself had for decades nurtured the hard right. The political class, the establishment as well as clerics need to take some bold moves to ensure that vulnerable communities can live in peace, and are not hounded by those bent on eliminating them. Left unattended, the violent vigilantism witnessed in Karachi will one day morph into an uncontrollable ogre. There may still be time to save the nation from sinking into the toxic vortex of obscurantism and violence, should the ruling classes prioritise this goal.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2023