LAHORE: A recent incident of police removing minarets of an Ahmadiyya community’s worship place in Vehari district has drawn widespread condemnation and calls for government intervention.

The incident occurred on Aug 8 in Thana Sheikh Fazal area in Burewala tehsil.According to reports, a police team arrived at the worship place on the afternoon of Aug 8 and dismantled its minarets in the presence of community members. The debris was then taken away by the police.”This act of desecration follows a distressing trend, with 14 worship places of the Ahmadiyya community being targeted in the last eight months, of which seven occurred in different districts of Punjab and the rest in Sindh,” a community spokesperson said.

He expressed community’s frustration and disappointment at the state institutions, alleging that instead of safeguarding vulnerable groups from extremist elements, some law enforcement agencies were involved in vandalising their worship places.

He said these actions were not only tarnishing the country’s reputation at international level but also eroding the sense of security for minority communities.

Police deny accusations

The spokesperson pointed out that these acts of desecration directly violated their constitutional rights.The spokesperson referenced to a 2014 Supreme Court case (S.M.C. No. 1 of 2014) that emphasized the protection of minority places of worship and recommended the establishment of a “Special Police Force” to ensure their safety.

The Ahmadiyya Community spokesperson urged the government to take immediate action to protect their places of worship and prevent future acts of desecration.

The spokesperson also reminded authorities of the important historical and patriotic role that the Ahmadiyya community had played in the establishment of the country.

The civil society groups, human rights organizations, and various religious leaders have expressed solidarity with the Ahmadiyya community and called for the protection of their rights.Burewala DSP Umer Farooq Baloch told Dawn that TLP reported about the Ahmadiyya Community worship place having minarets and they were planning to remove them.

He said the police had resolved through detailed negotiations with the TLP and Ahmadiyya Community members and both sides had agreed to remove the minarets from the worship place as they gave the resemblance of a mosque.

He said a retired constable of Ahmadiyya community had played his role in peacefully removing the minarets of the worship place as, according to the constitution, the worship place of minority community could not resemble a mosque.

He said the Muslims were asking to register a case under 298-A for hurting their religious sentiments but the matter was solved peacefully, without any act of violence.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2023