In a troubling incident of religious intolerance, police in the district of Vehari have allegedly defaced gravestones of Ahmadiyya community members at a local graveyard, following pressure from the local chapter of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP).
The incident took place in village 363/EB in Vehari, where police officers allegedly used black ink to paint over sacred inscriptions contained in the epitaphs on 13 Ahmadi graves.
According to sources, tensions in the village have been rising recently after local opponents of the Ahmadiyya community intensified their activities. On the day of the incident, a WhatsApp message was circulated by TLP activists warning the police that if the authorities failed to remove the religious inscriptions from the Ahmadi gravestones, the group would take matters into their hands.
In response to this growing pressure, police officers, along with another unidentified individual, arrived at the graveyard at around 3pm and painted over the sacred wordings on the tombstones. The graveyard, which contains graves of individuals from different communities, has a separate section for Ahmadis, with a total of 45 graves in it. Of these, 13 had tombstones that were desecrated.
Alarmed by the situation, the Ahmadi community approached the local police station to file a complaint. However, the Station House Officer (SHO) reportedly refused to register the complaint and even threatened the delegation. The SHO allegedly warned them to remove the religious inscriptions voluntarily or face further consequences.
This incident is the latest in a series of acts of discrimination and violence against the Ahmadiyya community, which continues to face persecution in Pakistan. The community is often targeted for its religious beliefs, with both social and legal barriers restricting their right to practice their faith freely.
The Ahmadiyya community has expressed deep concern over the desecration of their graves and the failure of local authorities to protect their religious rights. Despite repeated calls for the protection of minorities, incidents like this underscore the fragile state of religious freedom in the country.