Police in Gujranwala have demolished the mihrab (arch) of a 70-year-old Ahmadiyya worship site and desecrated two graves in an adjacent cemetery, according to community representatives.
The incident occurred in the early hours of 29 July near the village of Bootala Sharam Singh, at a location known as "Jammu Wala Dera", which comprises both a place of worship and a graveyard belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
At approximately 1:30 a.m., officers from Aimanabad Police Station — including two in uniform and nearly ten in plain clothes — arrived at the site in private vehicles and on motorcycles, accompanied by a tractor-trolley. They began demolishing the mihrab of the worship site and reportedly prevented locals from approaching the area.
By 4:00 a.m., the police had completed the demolition, constructed a wall in place of the mihrab, and left much of the debris on site. During the same operation, officers entered the adjoining Ahmadi cemetery, where they allegedly destroyed two tombstones bearing sacred inscriptions and removed the rubble from the premises.
A spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Amir Mahmood, condemned the incident, calling the actions of the police unlawful and discriminatory. “The police have no right to destroy a place of worship that has existed for over seventy years. Their duty is to protect the lives, property, and religious freedoms of all citizens, regardless of belief,” he said.
Mahmood urged senior police officials to take immediate notice of the incident and demanded that those responsible for the demolition and desecration be held legally accountable.
The incident has sparked fresh concerns over the systemic targeting of the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan, which remains constitutionally marginalised and frequently subjected to religiously motivated violence and persecution.