In a world already weighed down by division and despair, it is heartbreaking—no, soul-wrenching—to witness a community being persecuted for something as fundamental, as peaceful, as sacred… as prayer.
Over the past month alone, at least 33 Ahmadiyya worship sites across Pakistan have come under siege—not by foreign enemies, not by natural disasters, but by fellow citizens, driven by extremist ideologies that refuse to let others live, let alone pray.
Imagine walking to your mosque, heart filled with devotion, only to be met by jeers, threats, or worse—blows. Imagine the door to your place of worship locked by those who claim to serve justice. Imagine your faith criminalized. For Ahmadis in Pakistan, this isn’t a hypothetical horror—it’s a harsh, living reality.
On March 21, two police stations in Lahore—Islampura and Raiwind City—registered cases against dozens of Ahmadis. Their “crime”? Offering Friday prayers. The very act of congregating, bowing heads, and seeking peace has become dangerous for them.
In Aminpur Bazaar, Faisalabad, an Ahmadi man—who came simply to pray—was physically assaulted by extremists. His pain, his tears, his humiliation, echo louder than any political slogan ever could. Across Punjab—in Kartarpur Faisalabad, Nasira (District Gujrat), Peru Chak (District Sialkot)—other Ahmadi places of worship have been similarly encircled, threatened, and defiled with fear.
This isn’t new. Over the past few months, eight Ahmadi mosques have been sealed by the administration. And on February 28, over 75 Ahmadis in Daska and Bhagtanwala (Sargodha) were slapped with criminal cases. Again, the accusation? That they prayed. By March 7, in Surjani Town, Karachi, 28 Ahmadis had been arrested.
Let that sink in. Arrested for praying.
Where is our humanity?
Aamir Mahmood, spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan, has spoken with restraint and dignity even in the face of this trauma. “These actions,” he said, “are not only provocative and condemnable, but a direct violation of Article 20 of Pakistan’s Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to practice their faith.”
The Ahmadis are peace-loving, patriotic citizens. They do not ask for special treatment. They ask only to be left in peace to worship their Creator, as is their right—not just under the Constitution, but as human beings.
Today, we must ask ourselves: what kind of nation do we want to be? A land where the faithful are dragged from prayer mats into prison cells, or a place where every soul, regardless of sect or belief, is treated with dignity?
The Ahmadiyya spokesperson has called upon the people of Pakistan and its institutions to rise above the toxic noise of hatred. To reject the extremism that taints our national fabric. To dismiss baseless cases and ensure the immediate release of innocent Ahmadis.
This is not a political issue. This is not a theological debate. This is a test of our collective conscience.
To deny someone the right to pray is not just to silence their voice—it is to break their spirit. And when we allow that to happen, a part of our humanity dies with them.