Police have identified six individuals, including a Union Council (UC) chairman affiliated with the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), in connection with the lynching of an Ahmadi man in Karachi’s Saddar area on Friday.
The victim, 46-year-old businessman Laeeq Ahmad Cheema, was attacked and killed after a mob of TLP supporters stormed a hall belonging to the Ahmadiyya community to disrupt their religious gathering. Cheema was allegedly beaten while filming the incident near the nearby auto parts market. He later died from his injuries at Civil Hospital.
South Karachi Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza told Dawn.com that out of a crowd of 15 to 20 individuals, six suspects directly involved in the assault were clearly visible in CCTV footage. One of them, the DIG said, is the elected UC chairman of Kharadar and had won his position on a TLP ticket.
Three of the suspects had previously been implicated in a 2023 vandalism case linked to TLP, in which Cheema had served as the only eyewitness.
Raza confirmed that police raids are underway across the city to apprehend the identified individuals. “Further identifications will follow as the video footage is analyzed more closely,” he added.
Meanwhile, Preedy Police Station SHO Shabbir Husain visited Cheema’s family and urged them to formally register a first information report (FIR). According to the SHO, around 45 to 50 members of the Ahmadiyya community were inside their worship space when it was surrounded by the mob. Authorities had to deploy a prison van to safely escort them from the area.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed confirmed that Cheema suffered extensive injuries, including fatal head trauma caused by blunt force, resulting in fractures and internal bleeding.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the incident, calling it a severe breakdown of law and order. It described the lynching as a “grim reminder” of the state’s ongoing complicity in the systemic persecution of minority groups, particularly the Ahmadi community.
HRCP urged authorities to apprehend and prosecute those involved without yielding to pressure from extremist factions demanding leniency.
The commission’s recent report, Under Siege: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2023-24, warned of rising mob violence targeting religious minorities and their places of worship. As of October last year, the report noted, over 750 people were imprisoned on blasphemy charges, with four faith-based killings documented—three involving members of the Ahmadi community.
The HRCP also highlighted the growing misuse of blasphemy laws, frequently initiated by law enforcement, along with reports of arbitrary detentions, desecration of Ahmadi graves, and the ongoing vulnerability of Hindu and Christian women to forced conversions.
