Lawyers in Lahore have asked the government and the police to ensure that members of the Ahmadiyya community are prevented from performing the ritual sacrifice on Eidul Adha.
In a letter addressed to the Punjab Home Secretary, the Lahore High Court Bar Association President Muhammad Asad Manzoor Butt argued that performing the ritual sacrifice of certain animals and performing the special prayers on Eidul Adha is reserved only for Muslims.
It added that members of the Ahmadiyya community "deliberately exercise the act of qurbani (ritual sacrifice) and eid prayers illegally on the occasion of Eidul Adha."
The letter went on to use the word "infidels" for members of the Ahmadiyya community and accused them of "directly or indirectly poses themselves as Muslims, or calls, or refers to, their faith as Islam and by visible representations, or in any manner."
The lawyers' body argued that such acts by members of the Ahmadiyya community fall within the ambit of Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Section 298-C:
Person of Quadiani group (Ahmadiyya community), etc., calling himself a Muslim or preaching or propagating his faith: Any person of the Quadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves 'Ahmadis' or by any other name) who directly or indirectly, poses himself as a Muslim, or calls, or refers to, his faith as Islam, or preaches or propagates his faith, or invites others to accept his faith, by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations, or in any manner whatsoever outrages the religious feelings of Muslims shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
Expressing apprehension that every year, members of the Ahmadiyya community attempt to violate Section 298-C, Butt urged the Home Secretary to implement a notification issued on June 23, 2023, by the Punjab home department.
The home department was further urged to direct all regional police officers (RPOs), capital city police officers (CCPOs), City Police Officers (CPO), District Police Officers (DPOs), deputy commissioners (DCs) and station house officers (SHOs) in all districts of Punjab and the Punjab police chief to take "all the necessary and requisite preemptive and preventive measures to bound and restrained illegal use of [Shaair-E-Islami] (gathering for eid prayers and qurbani etc) by Qadiani/Lahori group on the occasion of Eidul Adha."
If any officer fails to act per these instructions, the lawyers' body urged the home department to initiate strict departmental action against them.
This is not the first time that the LHCBA or other bodies of lawyers have issued statements against Ahmadis.
Last year, at least two lawyer bodies had said they would not register any lawyer who belonged to the Ahmadiyya community. Moreover, at least a dozen people were arrested, and several animals were confiscated by police ahead of Eidul Adha last year.
Last month, a protest rally in Jhelum led by a local Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) leader meant to raise the Palestine issue was diverted towards Bait-ul-Zikr (worship place of the Ahmadiyya Community) and threatened to publicly hang members of the Ahmadiyya community if they held ritual sacrifice.