Islamabad, Sept 25: A prominent minority rights organization has raised alarm over the deepening religious intolerance in Pakistan, citing a recent incident in which a deceased Ahmadi woman was denied burial under pressure from hardline groups, allegedly with the support of local authorities.
According to the Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM), the body of Qudsia Tabassum has remained in a mortuary for two days after members of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) blocked her burial in Piru Chak, Punjab province. The graveyard in question already contains over 200 Ahmadi graves, yet extremists opposed the burial, underscoring the persistent discrimination the community faces.
A representative of the Ahmadi community, identified as Babar, told VOPM that local officials, including the Assistant Commissioner and District Commissioner, refused to intervene and even sided with the hardliners. “Whenever we approach them, they ask us to ‘let it go’,” he was quoted as saying.
The rights group stressed that this was not an isolated incident but part of a wider pattern of persecution against Ahmadis in Pakistan, who are constitutionally declared non-Muslims and routinely subjected to harassment, violence, and systemic discrimination.
“The government and law enforcement agencies are failing to protect the basic rights of minorities, and instead, enabling extremist forces like the TLP to trample upon them,” VOPM said in a statement. “This is not merely about denying burial; it symbolizes the broader erosion of religious freedom and human dignity in Pakistan.”
The organization warned that the state’s inaction sends a dangerous message—that religious minorities are expendable—and urged authorities to take immediate steps to uphold the country’s founding ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and equal rights for all citizens.
