LAHORE: The Pakistani authorities must immediately end the `systemic repression` of the Ahmadiyya community and uphold the right to freedom of belief and religion, said Amnesty International on Thursday.

The religious minority says it has been subjected to escalating intimidation, harassment, and attacks in the lead-up to Eidul Azha (June 7). Local and regional authorities across the country have taken measures to prevent Ahmadis from celebrating the festival, including forcing individuals to sign affidavits to refrain from Eid prayers and rituals, and issuing orders to the police. Since midApril, there have been multiple cases of violence by majoritarian religious groups against the Ahmadiyya community in which at least three people have been killed. This follows similar episodes of violence and harassment in the lead up to, during and after Eid last year as documented by Amnesty International.

`The violence and harassment targeted against Ahmadis ahead of the Islamic holiday of Eidul Azha is taking place against the backdrop of ongoing repression by the Pakistani authorities,` said Isabelle Lassée, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International.

`Not only are local authorities and local enforcement agencies across Pakistan failingto protect Ahmadis, they are themselves actively restricting their rights to freedom of belief and religion.

The Amnesty has examined more than 15 affidavits, or surety bonds, signed by Ahmadis undertaking to refrain from either purchasing animals or performing the customary animal sacrifice. Some affidavits even contained commitments that the individuals would refrain from offering Eid prayers.

The signed documents state that violation of the terms would lead to fines of up to Rs500,000 or open the signatories to legal sanction under the Pakistan Penal Code. The Amnesty has analysed such documents in five districts: Chakwal, Narowal, Toba Tek Singh, Khanewal and Faisalabad.

The Amnesty has also reviewed multiple notices issued by various district commissionersinLahore,Karachi,Mirpur, Sargodha and Rawalpindi directing the police to take action against Ahmadis found to be celebrating Eid. These orders were issued in response to applications by individuals belonging to religious groups such as Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and legal associations, including bar associations.

Preventive detention orders have also been issued in Sialkot, under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, against individuals from the Ahmadiyya community to prevent them from celebrating Eid. The order states that it is to prevent indi-viduals from acting in a `manner prejudicial to public safety and the maintenance of public order.` Recently, a member of the Ahmadiyya community was reportedly arbitrarily detained for attempting to purchase a sacrificial animal in Chiniot.

For Ahmadis, Eid has become a time of anxiety rather than joy. `Every year, Ahmadis brace themselves for the possibility of police action, threats, or even violence, said Mahmood Iftikhar, spokesman for the community. `The state`s arbitrary demands serve only to reinforce the message that Ahmadis are not protected under the law,` he added.

Ordinance XX of 1984, inserted sections 298-B and 298-C in the Pakistan Penal Code, which bar any Ahmadi from calling themselves Muslim or preaching and propagating their faith. This includes use of any `epithets, descriptions and titles` related to Muslims.

The law, and its subsequent interpretation by the Supreme Court in 1993, asserts that Ahmadis cannot declare themselves to be Muslims nor perform any practices that could be interpreted as them posing as Muslims. A 2022 Supreme Court judgment, however, upheld the rights of Ahmadis to practice their faith within their homes.

In 2024, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concerns about `harassment and intimidation of Ahmadi Muslims in the period preceding and during Eidul Azha.