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A group of United Nations (UN) experts has raised concern over the increase in cases of religious discrimination and violence against the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan on Thursday, noting that the anti-Ahmadi hostility is “widespread” in the county. The experts stated that the recent abuses include extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions and arrests, attacks on worship places, and that the Community’s rights to free expression, peaceful assembly and association are also violated.
While urging authorities to instantly take action to curb Ahmadi discrimination, the experts said, “urgent measures are necessary to respond to these violent attacks and the broader atmosphere of hatred and discrimination that feeds it.” The statement raises the targeted killings of two Ahmadi men on July 8 and one in Bahawalpur in March of this year, both in Punjab.
“Judicial harassment serves to normalize violence against Ahmadis by non-state actors,” the experts stated while focusing on Ahmadiyya worship places, and their right to practice their faith freely, the experts stressed. At least 36 Ahmadi men were arbitrarily detained around Eid-Al-Azha this year across Pakistan, and many barred from observing ritual sacrifice.
The UN experts also lauded a resolution passed on June 23, 2024, by the Pakistan National Assembly, which strongly urged federal and provincial governments to ensure the safety and security of all citizens of Pakistan, including religious minorities.
The UNSRs who issued this statement include Nazila Ghanea, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Miriam Estrada-Castillo and Mumba Malila, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression.