Hatred against minorities in Pakistan, 100 graves of Ahmadiya community desecrated; Know who is doing this:

News Topical, Digital Desk : Nearly 100 graves belonging to the minority Ahmadiyya community have been vandalised and desecrated in Pakistan's Punjab province. With this latest incident, the number of graves of Ahmadiyya community desecrated this year across the country has risen to over 250.

Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Pakistan spokesman Amir Mahmood said that the radical Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is suspected of vandalising the gravestones of the Ahmadiyya community in Khushab district, around 250km from Lahore, two days ago.

'TLP is spreading hatred'

The Mitha Tuwana police station in Khushab district has started investigating the case on the complaint of local Ahmadis. “It is notable that some people associated with Tehreek-e-Labbaik were involved in spreading hatred and inciting violence against local Ahmadiyya residents,” Mahmood said.

He also accused some police officials of pressuring the local Ahmadiya people to demolish these graves themselves for some time. "However, the Ahmadiya community clearly informed the local authorities that they will not do so," he said. He said the local Ahmadiya residents have given an application to District Police Officer (DPO) Khushab for legal action against the culprits.

How many graves were damaged this year

Mahmood said 269 Ahmadi graves have been desecrated in 11 different cities across Pakistan this year alone. "Last year 319 Ahmadi graves were desecrated in 21 different areas. Such heinous acts are bringing disrepute to Pakistan," he said.

“It is regrettable that despite dozens of incidents of desecration of Ahmadi graves, the relevant authorities have failed to provide justice to the victims,” Mahmood said, demanding that higher authorities take action against the culprits in accordance with the law.

A video of TLP cleric Zia Mustafa Shah is also going viral on social media, in which he is openly inciting people against Ahmadis and calling for the destruction of the graves of Ahmadis in Khushab.

Pakistan's parliament had declared the Ahmadiya community as non-Muslim

Most Ahmadis' places of worship in Pakistan have been attacked by TLP activists or in some incidents by the police, acting under pressure from religious extremists, who have demolished minarets, arches and removed sacred writings.

Although Ahmadis consider themselves Muslims, the community was declared non-Muslim by Pakistan's parliament in 1974. A decade later, they were banned not only from calling themselves Muslims but also from practising certain aspects of Islam.