KARACHI: A man from the Ahmadi community was lynched after around 400 Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers stormed their place of worship, in an attempt to prevent them from offering Friday prayers, police told Dawn.

Police and Rangers personnel were deployed around the worship place near Saddar’s Mobile Market to provide protection to the Ahmadis, and they managed to disperse the protesting TLP workers, DIG-South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn.

However, TLP workers allegedly thrashed a man, later identified as Laeeq Ahmad Cheema, at some distance from the worship place, near the auto parts market.

Cheema was supposedly recording a video of the mob. He was later taken to Civil Hospital, where he died.

The DIG said they had examined the evidence, including CCTV footage, and identified three suspects who had attacked Cheema. He revealed that the slain man was an eyewitness to an earlier attack on the same place of worship in 2023, and was actively pursuing the case in a local court.

The three suspects identified as being among his attackers were also accused in the 2023 attack case.

On the other hand, the DIG said the protesting TLP workers had also demanded the registration of an FIR against the Ahmadi community for offering Friday prayer in violation of the law.

Preedy Police SHO Shabbir Husain told Dawn that around 45-50 community members were inside their place of worship when the mob besieged them, adding that a prison van was called to shift them to a safe place.

Amir Mehmood, spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, told Dawn that Cheema was a ‘known’ figure in their community, and was probably atta­cked by the TLP men because they recognised him.

He claimed that the TLP-led mob had encircled the worship place and ‘held hostage’ the around 40 people who had gathered there for prayers.

DIG Raza later told Dawn police would register a murder case against the TLP leaders and workers, but “we are waiting for relatives to lodge the FIR.”

If they would not register the case, then an FIR would be registered on behalf of the state, the DIG said. He said they were in process of identifying the suspects.

On the other hand, TLP spokesperson Reham Mohammed Khan told Dawn that they had nothing to do with Cheema’s lynching.

He claimed their stance was clear, in that they wanted the implementation of laws pertaining to Ahmadis, which bar them from adopting Muslim symbols.

He also claimed that their protest was peaceful and asked what evidence the police had for blaming the murder on TLP workers.

On Friday evening, DIG Raza told Dawn that relatives of the deceased took away his body after autopsy at Civil Hospital Karachi, while telling police they would get an FIR registered after consultation with the community on Saturday.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn Mr Cheema had sustained multiple injuries all over the body. “Death occurred due to hard and blunt impacts on the head, leading to fractures and bleeding,” she said.

HRCP condemnation

Referring to the incident, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it was appalled by reports that an Ahmadi man had been allegedly lynched in Karachi, following an orchestrated attack by a far-right religious party on a colonial-era Ahmadi place of worship in the Saddar area.

This failure of law and order was a stark reminder of the continued complicity of the state in the systematic persecution of a beleaguered community, it added.

Meanwhile, Sindh Human Rights Commission chairperson Iqbal Ahmed Detho took notice of the killing and asked DIG Raza to ensure a thorough, impartial and expeditious investigation through a senior/competent officer with efforts to focus on identifying and apprehending the culprits.

The SHRC chairman asked the DIG to submit a detailed report within 15 days.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2025