No 'Qurbani' for you: Police stop Ahmadis from ritual sacrificing in Lahore

City police told Ahmadis that the sacrifice was an Islamic ritual and that Ahmadis were not Muslims.

LAHORE: Lahore police stopped various members of the Ahmadi community in Lahore from slaughtering animals as part of 'Qurbani' ritual on Eidul Azha, proclaiming that the ritual of animal sacrifice was an Islamic injunction whereas Ahmadis were not Muslims.

The Express Tribune learnt that police from the Islampura Police Station directed Tahir* in Sanat Nagar not to sacrifice his bull, which he had bought and tied in front of his house a day before Eid.

At the direction of police, Tahir had to remove the animal from his house.

On the same night, Hanjarwal police raided the house of Ahmad* at Sabzazar and took him to the police station, where he was detained for two hours. When his family members reached the police station, officials agreed to release him, but not before he provided a a written assurance that he will not perform the sacrifice meant to remember the Prophet Ibrahim's (AS) tradition of presenting Ismail (AS) for sacrifice, said one of Tahir's family members.

Another #Ahmadi got police at his doorstep who took him custody for possessing an animal for Qurban & released him after 2 hours.

— Saleem ud Din (@SaleemudDinAA) October 17, 2013

Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya spokesperson Saleemuddin, while talking to The Express Tribune, said all of this was too much for the Ahmadia community in Lahore.

Last year it was the same & #Ahmadis faced a lot of hardship & arrests for just performing a religious duty specifically on Lahore.

— Saleem ud Din (@SaleemudDinAA) October 17, 2013

He said that the police, instead of providing security to the citizens, was meddling in sectarian issues and supporting hardliners.

*Tahir and Ahmad are fabricated names to protect the identities of the victims.