On April 18, in the jurisdiction of Preedy Police Station, a 46-year-old Ahmadi man, Laeeq Ahmad Cheema, was brutally lynched outside the Ahmadiyya Hall in Karachi by an enraged mob. According to details, local Ahmadis had gathered as usual for Friday worship at their place of worship. During this time, a violent crowd affiliated with Tehreek-e-Labbaik surrounded the Ahmadiyya worship place and began chanting slogans.
Laeeq Ahmad Cheema, who was approximately 150 meters away from the hall, was identified by the mob and viciously attacked with stones and sticks. He succumbed to his injuries on the spot. He is survived by two wives, three sons, and four daughters.
While talking to the media, Additional Inspector General of Police Syed Asad Raza said that around 400 individuals affiliated with Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) had gathered near the mobile market. He stated that police and Rangers personnel were already present at the site, as similar incidents had recently occurred in Shah Latif, Surjani, and Khokhrapar.
Asad Raza said that the police, Rangers, and district administration acted promptly to protect the people inside the place of worship from the mob. However, at some distance from the community hall, in the auto parts market, TLP workers surrounded and assaulted a man named Laeeq Ahmad Cheema. He was taken to the hospital but could not survive the injuries.
Aamir Mehmood, spokesperson of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Pakistan, strongly condemned the brutal killing and expressed deep sorrow over the tragic incident. He stated that anti-Ahmadi sentiment is being openly propagated in Pakistani society, with calls for violence and murder against Ahmadis made publicly and with impunity.
In recent months, extremist elements linked with Tehreek-e-Labbaik have repeatedly laid siege to Ahmadiyya places of worship. Rather than taking action against these mobs, the authorities have instead registered baseless cases and arrested Ahmadis worshipping peacefully within the confines of their places of worship. It should be noted that this very Ahmadiyya Hall in Karachi was attacked on two previous occasions—on February 2 and September 4, 2023—when its minarets were demolished by miscreants.
The spokesperson reminded that Article 20 of Pakistan’s Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to religious freedom. He said that such heinous acts against patriotic Ahmadis are tarnishing Pakistan’s global image. Under the guise of religion, extremist elements are escalating their violent actions against the Ahmadi community, while the authorities have failed to provide them protection.
The Ahmadiyya community demands that the killers of Laeeq Ahmad Cheema be arrested immediately and brought to justice under the law.