Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya Pakistan
In recent months, four Ahmadis were killed in Peshawar in faith-based attacks.
At midnight, on 11 March 2021, three Ahmadi households in Bazid Khel, Peshawar became victims of direct gun firing. Fortunately, no one was harmed in this horrific incident. An FIR of the incident was registered at the Budh Bair police station. Based on the information provided, the three households belonged to Ahmadis namely, Mr Arshad Iqbal, Mr Rooh-ul-Amin and Mr Muhammad Rafiq.
The spokesperson of the Ahmadiyya Community, while offering his sorrow and grief over this unfortunate incident, expressed his concerns over the increase in hate campaigns against the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan in general, and especially in Peshawar.
There is also a recent increase in fatal attacks against members of the community. This is the ninth serious attack on the community in recent months. On 11 February 2021, in Bazid Khel, Peshawar, Mr Abdul Qadir, an Ahmadi who was 65, was shot dead at the doorstep of a medical centre owned by an Ahmadi.
Shortly after Mr Abdul Qadir’s killing, an unprovoked hate campaign was launched against the community. On 25 February, a procession in Peshawar took place where violence against Ahmadis was promoted. The participants of the procession further threatened Ahmadis and demanded them to abandon the city of Peshawar.
The spokesperson further expressed that these attacks are creating a sense of deep insecurity amongst members of the community while the Ahmadis of Peshawar are living in an atmosphere of immense fear. He demanded that perpetrators of this vicious attack should be brought to justice and that the Pakistani Government must put an end to such hate campaigns against Ahmadis.