According to police and community sources, the deceased, identified as Laeeq Ahmed Cheema, was attacked with bricks and wooden sticks by an enraged mob approximately 150 meters from the worship site. He died on the spot due to the severity of the assault. Cheema is survived by two wives, three sons, and four daughters.

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Reports suggest that local Ahmadis had gathered for their regular Friday prayers at the community hall when a crowd of nearly 400 TLP members encircled the building, chanting slogans. Cheema, who was reportedly filming the protest near Hashu Centre, was identified and targeted by the mob.

Speaking to Dawn.com, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza confirmed the presence of hundreds of TLP workers near the hall adjacent to the mobile market. Given recent similar incidents in Shah Latif, Surjani, and Khokhrapar, law enforcement had already been deployed in the area.

DIG Raza stated that the police, Rangers, and district administration acted swiftly to protect the worshippers inside the building. However, the tragic killing occurred nearby, close to the auto parts market. “The Ahmadi community claims that the deceased was a member associated with the place of worship. We are verifying this claim and have begun collecting CCTV footage,” he added.

Preedy SHO Shabbir Hussain later confirmed that Cheema was filming TLP members when they turned on him violently. He also verified Cheema’s affiliation with the Ahmadiyya community and said that a prison van was called to safely relocate 45–50 community members from inside the hall.

Amir Mahmood, spokesperson for Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Pakistan, strongly condemned the killing, calling it a tragic result of the unchecked hate being incited against Ahmadis in Pakistan. “There is a continuous campaign of hatred being spread against our community. Public fatwas openly calling for our murder are commonplace,” he said. He added that over the past several months, TLP activists have repeatedly encircled Ahmadi worship places, and authorities have instead registered cases against the worshippers themselves.

It is noteworthy that the same Ahmadi hall in Karachi had been attacked previously, once on February 2, 2023, and again on September 4, 2023, during which miscreants destroyed the minarets of the hall.

Mahmood reiterated that Article 20 of Pakistan’s Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to religious freedom and peaceful worship.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also expressed deep alarm over the incident, labelling it a “complete breakdown of law and order” and a “shocking reminder of the state’s continued complicity in the systematic persecution of an already beleaguered community.”

HRCP called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible, “without caving in to pressure from far-right elements.”

In a recent report titled “Under Siege: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2023–24”, HRCP documented a rise in mob-led violence against minority communities and their places of worship. The report cited increasing instances of arbitrary arrests, desecration of Ahmadi graves, and forced conversions of Hindu and Christian women.

As of October 2023, the report noted that over 750 individuals were imprisoned under blasphemy charges, with at least four faith-based killings—three of which targeted Ahmadis. The HRCP warned of the growing misuse of blasphemy laws, often triggered by disinformation on social media and, alarmingly, initiated by law enforcement officers themselves.

This tragic incident marks yet another dark chapter in Pakistan’s struggle with religious intolerance and the failure to protect its minority communities.