Stopping Loyal Pakistani Ahmadis from Performing Eid al-Fitr Prayers is a Grave Violation of Human Rights: Spokesman of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Pakistan

Report By)

Frankfurt Germany

On the sacred day of Eid al-Fitr, 21 March 2026, police and administration in several districts of Punjab forcibly vacated Ahmadi places of worship, sealed them with locks, and prevented Ahmadis from offering their Eid prayers. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Pakistan has termed this action a clear violation of the Constitution of Pakistan and a Supreme Court judgment.
According to details, the administration in Gujranwala banned Eid prayers outright. In Sialkot, worship was not allowed at least at 6 locations. In Faisalabad, police forcibly emptied an Ahmadi place of worship, while in Sargodha, locks were placed on various Ahmadi worship places.
Amir Mahmood, Spokesman of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Pakistan, expressed deep regret over the incident and stated that preventing peaceful and patriotic Pakistani Ahmadis from performing their religious duties even within the four walls of their homes is a serious violation of human rights.
He said:
“Freedom to profess and practise one’s religious beliefs is a universally recognized human right, guaranteed under Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 20 of the Constitution of Pakistan. These unjust actions by the police and administration are in clear violation of Article 20 of the Constitution as well as the judgment delivered on 12 January 2022 by a two-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan in Cr1.P.916-L/2021. The Supreme Court had explicitly ruled that Ahmadis have complete freedom to practise their faith within the four walls of their homes.”
The spokesman added that senior state functionaries have repeatedly declared that extremism will not be tolerated in Pakistan at any cost. However, the actions of certain local officials have damaged the country’s international image. He demanded that the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom and the state’s resolve against extremism must be reflected in the actions of the administration, and that the violation of Ahmadis’ rights must stop immediately.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Pakistan has appealed to the international community and human rights organizations to take note of these ongoing violations of religious freedom in Pakistan.