The Silent Genocide of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan

Written by Khlood Awan, Edited by Jameson Russell

Walking down the streets of Pakistan’s bazaars, it’s common to see signs saying “Ahamdis and dogs not allowed” or “Ahmadis should enter Islam before entering this shop.” [1] Discrimination, hate, and violence against Ahmadi Muslims — the only Muslim sect to recognize the coming of the Promised Messiah — is wholly normalized in Pakistan. Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan are facing a genocide perpetrated by Pakistan’s legal system, organized extremist groups, as well as Pakistan’s everyday citizens. Some may argue that the dire situations of Pakistan’s Ahmadi Muslims only constitute crimes against humanity, but through further analysis of the systematic destruction and targeting of the Ahmadiyya community, it becomes clear that the religious minority is facing a genocide. ​

In order to better understand the situation faced by Ahmadis in Pakistan, it is necessary to understand Pakistan’s legislation. In 1973 Pakistan declared itself an Islamic Republic by passing the 1974 Ordinance XX — later revised in 1984 by former Prime Minister Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq — which defined who falls outside the realm of Islam. Ordinance XX directly refers to Ahmadi Muslims as “Quadianis” and “Lahoris,” both being derogatory terms used to reference the religious minority. [2] The document states any Ahmadi “who by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation” virtually practices Islam “shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.” [2] In 1990, sections 295B and 295C of the Penal Code were interpreted by Pakistan’s Federal Shariah Court to require a mandatory life sentence or death penalty for their outlined offenses. [3] These sets of legislation justify  discrimination toward Ahmadis. In a 2010 Human Rights Watch article, experts highlight the amassing arbitrary detentions of Ahmadis under the Ordinance and its penal codes. From 2000-2010 “an estimated 400 Ahmadis have been formally charged in criminal cases” facing “life imprisonment or death sentences pending appeal.” Offenses include “wearing an Islamic slogan on a shirt, planning to build an Ahmadi mosque in Lahore, and distributing Ahmadi literature in a public square.” [4] 

Identifying as an Ahmadi Muslim can also strip one of their voting rights. UN experts at the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, express their concern regarding Pakistan’s discriminative voting system — whereby Ahamdis must denounce Islam in order to vote — as it has had “a serious impact on the level of participation of the Ahmadiyya minority in the political process.” [5] Moreover, Ahmadis in Pakistan are unable to serve on judicial courts. Consequences of Pakistan’s legislation mirror the genocidal process of the Holocaust, specifically the 25-Point Nazi Party Program. Published in April 1933, the Program stated how “no Jew c[ould] work in government” or “in the law courts.” [6] Such propaganda was used to ensure Jews were restricted in their capacity to effect legal change in the Regime, highlighting the planned intent to destroy the Jews, in a manner identical to the current treatment of Ahmadis under Ordinance XX. 

The destruction of the community through legislation reaches into the daily lives of Ahmadis. Targeted mass killings are a stark reality for Ahmadis. On May 28, 2010 the Tehrik-e-Taliban carried out massacres on two Ahmadi mosques killing at least 94 Ahmadis, injuring over 100. This was followed by a subsequent attack by gunmen on May 31 on an Intensive Care Unit where the injured were receiving treatment, killing 12 people. HRW experts highlight failure on the part of Pakistan’s provincial government to take preventative steps to protect the community. They also highlighted the failure of Pakistan’s judicial system in bringing the perpetrators of the mass killings to trial, leading other organized extremist groups to follow suit with violence. [7] Inaction on the part of the Pakistani government is a direct consequence of penal codes that criminalize Ahmadi Muslims from practicing their Islam; restrictions include calling the adhan, calling to prayer, going to mosques, and even celebrating Eid. This inaction parallels the consequences of international inaction in response to Kristallnacht when, from November 9-10, 1938, German masses took to the streets to destroy Jewish communities. [8] The lack of response to this mass violence signaled to the Nazi Regime that their plan to systematically destroy Jews could be carried out with little to no intervention. By criminalizing Ahmadi Muslims’ ability to identify as Muslim and practice Islam, Pakistan’s penal codes have normalized and justified violence against the minority group.

Media and politics have further perpetrated this mindset among Pakistan’s extremist groups, as well as ordinary citizens. Although Article 19 of Pakistan’s constitution upholds freedom of speech, the constitution clarifies that free speech can be restricted “in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity” [9], much of this exception has been targeted towards religious minorities. The Ahmadiyya Muslim community, in particular, has been targeted as the group has been labeled as blasphemous under Ordinance XX and its penal codes. This law normalizes hate speech against Pakistan’s Ahamdi Muslims, as they are viewed as threatening “the glory of Islam.” In the 42nd Universal Periodic Review, experts underscored the persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan’s media and politics. According to the experts, hate speech against Ahmadis is common in mainstream media. Politicians “spew hatred to garner support from the masses,” further barring Ahmadis from holding governmental positions. [10] Shahid Kunwar, a Pakistan-based correspondent for “The Diplomat,” highlights that, in 2018, former Prime Minister Imran Khan “backtracked on the appointment of renowned economist Atif Mian as financial advisor owing to his Ahmadiyya faith.” Kunwar also discusses the scapegoating of Ahmadis as they are “accused of being collaborators” with Pakistan’s adversaries and were even held responsible for “the outbreak of COVID-19.” [11] Pakistan’s government has failed to restrict hate speech targeted against Ahamdi Muslims, as it does not directly violate Pakistan’s free speech law. 

The role of the media and political campaigning on the lives of Pakistan’s Ahmadis echoes the process of the Holocaust as Jews were used as scapegoats to blame for the loss of World War 1 and the perishing economy. Hatred against Ahamdi Muslims in media and politics, protected by Pakistan’s free speech law and Ordinance XX, has influenced everyday discrimination against Ahmadis. Experts at the UN’s Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) underscore how a series of attacks in 2022 took place where “Ahmadi Muslim graves were desecrated.” Remains were dug up and thrown out while “ minarets of [mosques were] demolished.” UPR notes how such destruction “is a regular occurrence.” In 2020, 11-year-old Ahmadi boy, Tanzeel Ahmad Butt, “was abducted and brutally killed by his neighbors.” [10] Such regularly occurring violence carried out by everyday citizens in Pakistan closely resembles the Bosnian genocide. A testimony by Dragan Obrenović, a perpetrator of the Bosnian genocide, recalled living in a close-knit community with Bosniaks, who he later went on to kill during the genocide. [12] Such betrayal is also the reality for Pakistan’s Ahmadis who are targeted by teachers, students, and other community members. 

Some may argue that the experience of Ahmadis is to be constituted as crimes against humanity, but after examining Article 2 of the Genocide Convention it becomes clear that Ahmadis are living a genocide. Crimes against humanity, as defined by the UN under Article 2, are certain “acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.” [13] Genocide is further defined as when “[certain] acts [are] committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.” [14] The distinction between the two lies in proving the intent to destroy one of the protected groups under Article 2 of the Convention. Ahmadis are a religious minority, a protected group under the Convention. Furthermore, Ordinance XX and the subsequent lack of governmental response to attacks on the Ahmadiyya community evidence a certain intent to destroy the minority. The definition of who is Muslim — an aspect of identity important to Pakistanis — reflects the 25-point Nazi Program, in which “No Jew can be a member of the [German] race.” [15] Such rhetoric alienates a group. In the case of Pakistan, Ahmadis have been inherently labeled as the “other” and been rejected by society in a multitude of ways. Furthermore, the intent to destroy the religious identity of the minority is exemplified through legal targeting of religious practices of Ahmadis. The UPR highlights Pakistan’s failure to protect human rights of Ahmadis and that Ordinance XX has “started the unfortunate saga of vicious state sponsored persecution of Ahmadi Muslims.” [16] Thus Ahmadis live in fear of their lives and face trauma as their community has been subject to destruction. 

Thus through the wide-spread hate and targeting of Ahmadis in Pakistan that normalizes discrimination of Ahmadis — even when walking down Pakistan’s bazaars — the intent to destroy the religious community becomes clear. The action and inaction of the Pakistani government must be recognized and address with urgency and accuracy by the international community as the Ahmadi situation constitutes genocide rather than just crimes against humanity.

The opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions of the designated authors and do not reflect the opinions or views of the Penn Undergraduate Law Journal, our staff, or our clients.​

Works Cited
[1] Shahid, Kunwar Khuldune. “Pakistan Continues to Exhibit Gory ‘islamophobia’ against Ahmadis.” – The Diplomat, February 15, 2022. https://thediplomat.com/2022/02/pakistan-continues-to-exhibit-gory-islamophobia-against-ahmadis/. 
[2] “Ordinance XX of 1984.” South Asian Terrorism Portal. Accessed October 30, 2024. https://satp.org/Docs/Document/1165.pdf. 
[3] “Pakistan’s Anti-Blasphemy Laws.” World Watch Monitor, June 14, 2019. https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/pakistans-anti-blasphemy-laws/. 
[4] “Pakistan: Massacre of Minority Ahmadis.” Human Rights Watch, October 28, 2020. https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/06/01/pakistan-massacre-minority-ahmadis. 
[5] Shaheed, Ahmed, Fernand de Varennes, and Agnes Callamard. “Pakistan Must Repeal Discriminatory Measures Leading to Persecution of Ahmadis, Say UN Experts | OHCHR.” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2018.https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2018/07/pakistan-must-repeal-discriminatory-measures-leading-persecution-ahmadis-say. 
[6] “25 Points of NSDAP: Explore the Nazi Party’s Platform.” Virginia Holocaust Museum - We Remember, June 6, 2024. https://www.vaholocaust.org/25-points-of-nsdap/. 
[7] “Pakistan: Massacre of Minority Ahmadis.” Human Rights Watch, October 28, 2020. https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/06/01/pakistan-massacre-minority-ahmadis.
[8] “Kristallnacht.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Accessed October 30, 2024. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kristallnacht.  
[9] Vigneau, Marylise. “Article 19 - Phmuseum.” PhMuseum. Accessed November 7, 2024. https://phmuseum.com/projects/article-19. 
[10] “Feb 2023 Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan Join Submission.” Universal Periodic Review, February 2023. https://upr-info.org/sites/default/files/country-document/2023-03/JS4_UPR42_PAK_E_Main.pdf. 
[11] Shahid, Kunwar Khuldune. “Pakistan Continues to Exhibit Gory ‘islamophobia’ against Ahmadis.” – The Diplomat, February 15, 2022. https://thediplomat.com/2022/02/pakistan-continues-to-exhibit-gory-islamophobia-against-ahmadis/. 
[12] “Eyewitness Testimony: Dragan Obrenović.” YouTube, August 7, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S59KHoS_tG0. 
[13] “Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity” United Nations, 2019. https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/draft_articles/7_7_2019.pdf. 
[14] “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment Of Genocide” United Nations. Accessed October 30, 2024. https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.1_Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.pdf. 
[15] “25 Points of NSDAP: Explore the Nazi Party’s Platform.” Virginia Holocaust Museum - We Remember, June 6, 2024. https://www.vaholocaust.org/25-points-of-nsdap/. 
[16] “Jan-Feb 2023 Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan Join Submission.” Universal Periodic Review, February 2023. https://upr-info.org/sites/default/files/country-document/2023-03/JS4_UPR42_PAK_E_Main.pdf
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Image source: ​https://appg-ahmadiyyamuslim.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/graves-1.jpg