Religious intolerance deepens in Pakistan as Ahmadi woman denied burial rights

In Pakistan, a heartbreaking case of religious intolerance has spotlighted the ongoing struggles of the Ahmadi community. A minority rights group called Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM) says hardline Islamists from the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, with support from local authorities, blocked the burial of Qudsia Tabassum, a woman from the Ahmadiyya community. Her body has sat in a mortuary for two days now.

This incident happened in the Piru Chak area of Punjab province, where a graveyard has served as the final resting place for over 200 Ahmadis for years. But when family and community members tried to bury Qudsia there, TLP extremists stepped in to stop them. Babar, a representative from the Ahmadi community, told VOPM that local officials like the Assistant Commissioner and District Commissioner ignored their pleas and even sided with the protesters. “Whenever we approach them, they ask us to ‘let it go,'” Babar said.

VOPM calls this more than a one-off problem—it’s part of decades of discrimination and violence against Ahmadis in Pakistan. The group accuses the government and police of failing to protect minority rights and instead enabling religious extremists. “The TLP’s role in this obstruction shows how far Pakistan has strayed from its founding principles of religious freedom and tolerance,” VOPM stated. “Authorities’ inaction just emboldens these groups and tells the nation that religious minorities don’t matter.”

The rights organization urges Pakistani leaders to step up, enforce religious freedom, and protect human dignity for all. They warn that unchecked extremism like this threatens the whole country, turning burial rights into a stark symbol of growing persecution for Ahmadis and other minorities in Pakistan.


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