Tombstones on another two graves belonging to the Ahmadiyya community in a village of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) have been desecrated, including the tombstone on the grave of a soldier. This is the second such attack on the graves of the community in this village within the past seven days.
A statement issued by the Ahmadiyya community said that earlier in the week, unidentified miscreants had destroyed the tombstones installed atop two graves located in a cemetery in the Patiara area of Barmoj Goi in Kotli district of AJK.
The community noted that Tuesday's attack followed a similar incident in the same village last week when tombstones on eight graves of Ahmadis were destroyed.
One of the tombstones desecrated was installed on the grave of Naik Ghulam Shafi, a soldier who had laid down his life while serving in the Pakistan Army at Siachen - one of the world's highest, coldest and most treacherous battlegrounds between the two nuclear-tipped hostile neighbours Pakistan and India on the Line of Control (LoC) flashpoint.
"This attitude is simply not acceptable as the ones who lay down their lives while serving Pakistan are considered martyrs of the land," a community spokesperson said.
The community further warned that anti-Ahmadiyya activities in the Kotli district of AJK have been gathering momentum in the past few months. The way these acts have been carried out, the community feared that it reflects that they could be part of an organised effort targetting innocent and peaceful members of the Ahmadiyya community.
The community noted that the recent wave of attacks targetting members of the Ahmadiyya community throughout Pakistan seems to have no end. They urged the relevant authorities to look into this matter immediately and find a way to stop the hateful activities from recurring.