The Lahore High Court Bar Association has recently urged the Punjab home department to strictly enforce laws against members of the Ahmadi community if they perform Islamic rites during Eidul Azha.
In a letter dated June 22, 2023, addressed to the Punjab home secretary, the LHCBA President stated that offering Eid prayers and qurbani are Islamic rituals exclusively observed by Muslims.
The letter refers to Article 260(3) of the Constitution, which declared the Qadyani and Lahore groups, known as Ahmadiyya, as non-Muslims since 1974.
It is important to note that the letter was written by the LHCBA President in his personal capacity and doesn’t represent the entire bar association.
An office-bearer said the letter did not represent the whole bar as the president wrote it in his personal capacity.
Some members have expressed their disagreement, stating that the bar’s platform should not be used for such controversial communications with the government.
The Ahmadiyya community has faced increasing persecution in various parts of Pakistan, as highlighted by a fact-finding mission led by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). The mission reported incidents of desecration of Ahmadi graves, destruction of minarets at Ahmadi sites of worship, and the filing of FIRs against community members for ritual animal sacrifices on Eid.
In 2014, Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jilani ruled that these attacks and demolitions of Ahmadiyya mosques were clear violations of Pakistan’s constitution and judicial decisions.
