Kabul, March 11 (IANS) Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in Sunni radicalisation across the country under the leadership of Army Chief Asim Munir, resulting in escalating violence against religious minorities like Ahmadis and Shias without recourse to justice, a report has detailed.
“Pakistan’s two largest Muslim minorities, the Shia (notably Hazara Shia) and Ahmadis, have endured an unprecedented surge of violence and lynchings in the last couple of years. In November 2024 alone, over 40 Shia pilgrims were slaughtered in a single convoy ambush in Kurram District. Across Punjab and Sindh, mobs of hardline extremists have stormed Ahmadi prayer halls and beaten worshippers to death,” a report in the Afghan Diaspora Network mentioned.
“Human rights monitors warn that this is not a random crime but a full-fledged sectarian onslaught. Earlier this month, the Islamic State of Pakistan conducted a suicide attack on a famous Shia Mosque in capital Islamabad, which resulted in 32 casualties. The core cadre base of IS-Pakistan comes from anti-Shia Sunni outfits like outlawed Sipaha-e-Sahaba(SSP) and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ), among others,” it added.
Citing analysts, the report suggested that these radical Sunni outfits were likely responsible for the attack, with their activities becoming more visible lately. Notably, a big gathering of the LeJ was reportedly underway near the Shia Mosque, which was attacked on February 6.
Amnesty International highlighted that Pakistani “authorities have failed to protect the Hazara Shia community” from repeated threats and attacks.
“Provincial governments issue rhetorical condemnations, but no effective shield exists. As a result, Shia imambargahs and gatherings across Pakistan remain vulnerable as militant clerics incite Sunni mobs,” the report noted.
According to the report, Ahmadis, officially declared non-Muslim under Pakistan’s constitution, face equally brutal attacks from radical Sunni outfits.
“Since early 2025, mobs loyal to extremist blasphemy-enforcing parties have hunted them openly. On 18 April 2025, a mob of 100-200 Islamist demonstrators stormed an Ahmadi prayer hall in Karachi, dragged out a 47-year-old man, and beat him to death with bricks and sticks. Two months earlier, a 46-year-old Ahmadi businessman was lynched by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) hardliners outside an Ahmadis’ hall in Saddar district of Karachi," it mentioned.
“In another chilling case, a prominent Ahmadi doctor, Sheikh Mahmood, was gunned down at his hospital workplace in Sargodha on 16 May 2025. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) notes these were the third and fourth targetted Ahmadi murders in a single month – part of a ‘distressing trend of targeted violence against Ahmadis’,” it further stated.
Amid the widespread violence, the report said, the international community should have pressed Pakistan's military leadership for accountability, given that the civilian government is weak and powerless to protect Ahmadis and Shias.
“Yet to date, there has been no solution to the problem as religious minorities continue to face repressive tactics from the majority. The blood of innocents, lynched or shot simply for their faith, continues to stain Pakistan’s conscience,” it noted.
--IANS
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