An Ahmadi man has been arrested on blasphemy charges in Punjab’s Gujranwala for distributing langar, a tradition of distributing free food, on 10th of Muharram (Ashura). 

 

The police said on Monday that the Ahmadi man has been sent to jail on judicial remand for seven days.

 

According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered by a citizen on July 6 at the Satellite Town Police Station, the incident occurred on Sunday at 4:30 pm. The case was filed under section 298 (C) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which criminalises certain acts by Ahmadi community's members, including calling themselves Muslims or referring to their faith as Islam.

 

The FIR stated that the complainant saw the Ahmadi man distributing biryani at a langar while  “identifying himself as a Muslim and speaking and acting like a Muslim.”

 

The complainant stated that when two individuals he had called to the site arrived, “the suspect fled from the scene.”

 

Additionally, referring to the Ahmadi man in the report, the complainant argued that he could not perform the rituals of Islam.

 

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman condemned the development, expressing hope that the government would annul the FIR.

 

Last month, the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) asked the Punjab police chief to bar the Ahmadiyya community from performing Islamic rituals on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha and take action against its members if found violating the law.

 

In a letter, the LHCBA said that the followers of other religions and sects, especially the Ahmadis, are neither legally nor religiously allowed to use Islamic symbols and practices.

 

Meanwhile, in March, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) stated that it had observed a surging trend of mob-led attacks on homes of families belonging to religious minorities, as well as their places of worship.

 

The report, titled Under Siege: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2023-24, said over 750 persons were imprisoned on blasphemy charges as of October 2024. It documented at least four faith-based killings, three of which targeted the Ahmadi community. The report underscored that disinformation on social media sparked most blasphemy cases.