Islamabad, Sep 29 (IANS) The Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan has strongly condemned attack on an Ahmadi man in country's Punjab province, terming it as a "cowardly assault" and highlighting that it was motivated by his faith and part of a broader pattern of violence and hostility against Ahmadis, a report has detailed.

The community's statement came after an Ahmadi man was seriously injured after being stabbed in Lathianwala in Punjab's Faisalabad just days after an Ahmadi man and his son were injured when unidentified assailants opened fire at them.

The Ahmadiyya community has urged Pakistani authorities to act against the perpetrators behind the attacks and ensure protection for Ahmadis in the future, 'Voice PK' reported. The report added that persistence of hate-driven violence has raised serious concerns about safety among members of the Ahmadiyya community and the continuous failure of authorities to act against perpetrators could embolden those responsible for such attacks.

The victim, identified as Hamid Javed, was injured after he was attacked near his residence in Lathianwala at around 5:30 pm on September 21. He told police that he was returning home when an unidentified man aged between 40 and 42 years approached him and attacked him with a knife.

On September 19, an Ahmadi man and his son were injured after gunmen opened fire at them in Punjab's Sargodha, Voicepk.net reported.

Earlier this month, Karachi-based International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) called for immediate justice and accountability in the assassination of Mirza Safdar Mahmood, a local leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan’s Punjab Province.

Mirza Safdar Mahmood, aged 65, was shot dead in the town of Mandi Bahauddin, reported Spanish media outlet 'Atalayar'. IHRC is an organisation focusing specifically on the rights of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.

“Targeted killing: Ahmadi local official gunned down in Pakistan. Mirza Safdar Mahmood, 65, was shot dead while travelling to an Ahmadi place of worship in Mandi Bahauddin.IHRC calls for immediate justice and accountability,” IHRC stated on X, sharing a detailed report.

IHRC stated that the targeted killing of Mahmood cannot be viewed in isolation as it comes amid a ‘deeply disturbing’ backdrop of ‘persistent anti-Ahmadi hatred, incitement and threats’ across Pakistan.

“Representatives of the Ahmadiyya Community stressed that the victim had no personal disputes or prior animosities, pointing squarely to a targeted killing motivated by religious intolerance. Mahmood is survived by his wife and two children; his funeral and burial arrangements were subsequently conducted in the city of Rabwah,” the report in Atalayar revealed.

It noted that the assassination took place amid the escalating incitement and hate speech targeting Ahmadis across the district of Mandi Bahauddin.

“In recent weeks, regional religious figures had issued virulent threats, including public death threats against a local police officer on account of his Ahmadi faith, as well as explicit intimidation directed at pregnant Ahmadi women. This pattern of lethal violence has direct operational precedents in the immediate area: on 8 June 2024, two members of the Ahmadiyya community were shot and killed in separate armed ambushes carried out on the same day in the locality of Sadullahpur,” the report highlighted.

--IANS

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