- Police claim 18 people injured, including 13 Muslims and five Ahmedis, in ‘crossfire’
At least six members of the Ahmadiyya community were reportedly wounded after a mob, comprising mullahs and locals, attacked the community’s place of worship in Ghaseetpura district of Faisalabad on the second day of Eid.
However, the police claimed that 18 people, including 13 Muslims and five Ahmedis, were injured in a crossfire between the two communities after a minor dispute.
According to a tweet shared by Jamaat Ahmadiyya Spokesperson Saleemuddin, a minor altercation between two individuals was “manipulated by mullahs and miscreants” to attack the worship place.
The mob, allegedly armed with weapons, ransacked the worship place and set it on fire, the spokesperson claimed on his twitter handle. “As a result of the firing, at least six people got wounded.”
Over a minor dispute between 2 persons that was manipulated by mullahs & miscreants an armed mob attacked Ahmadiyya Baitulzikr in Chak 69 RB (Ghaseetpura) district Faisalabad. 6 Ahmadis got injured in the attack. Situation is relatively under control but tense.
— Saleem ud Din (@SaleemudDinAA) August 23, 2018
چک ۶۹ رب گھسیٹ پورہ ضلع فیصل آباد میں دو آشخاص کے درمیان ہونے والے معمولی نوعیت کے تنازعہ کو ہوا دیکر مذہبی ایشو بنا کر احمدیہ بیت الذکر پر مسلح حملہ کیا گیا بیت الذکر کو آگ لگائی گئی اور توڑ پھوڑ کی گئی فائرنگ بھی کی گئی جس کے نتیجہ میں ۶ احمدی افراد زخمی ہیں ۔
— Saleem ud Din (@SaleemudDinAA) August 23, 2018
Soon after the incident, contingents of police were called in to contain the situation.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Balochni Police Station SHO [Station House Officer] Zahid Abbas said that the dispute between the two groups was not religious in nature at first.
“Ahmedis had attacked the houses of the other group first over a minor dispute,” he claimed, adding that following the attack the other group gathered outside the Ahmedis’ place of worship and started pelting stones at it.
“The first shot was fired from inside the place of worship,” he further claimed.
“The situation was so tense, if the police hadn’t reached the spot on time, there would have been much more loss of lives and properties,” Zahid claimed.
Responding to a question pertaining to the news doing rounds on social media, saying that the houses of Ahmedis were also burned down, Zahid said that no other place was harmed or attacked except for the place of worship.
However, Mian Amer Mehmmod, in charge of the community’s press section, alleged that besides the place of worship, a shop belonging to a community member was also attacked.
JUST IN: 6 Ahmadi Muslims shot, Ahmadi Mosque set on fire and now extremist mob heading towards houses of local Ahmadis in Ghaseet Pura, Faisalabad. Please pray for & raise your voice for Ahmadis in the area. #NayaPakistan via @QasidSalehAhmed #AhmadiApartheid pic.twitter.com/HrdOYiMiU1
— Kashif N Chaudhry (@KashifMD) August 23, 2018
On May 24, 2018, a similar incident took place in Sialkot when a mob— allegedly comprising members of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TRLY) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)— in connivance with the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) and police officials had attacked an Ahmedi place of worship.
