Man from Ahmadiyya community stabbed to death in Punjab

Naseer Ahmad was stabbed to death allegedly for refusing to chant religious slogans

LAHORE:

A member of Pakistan's minority Ahmadiyya community was stabbed to death in the eastern town of Rabwah - officially known as Chenab Nagar - on Friday allegedly for refusing to chant religious slogans, a community activist and police said.

"The accused approached Naseer Ahmad, 62, an Ahmadi by faith and asked him to raise slogans of a party. On Ahmad's refusal, he repeatedly stabbed and killed him on spot," Saleem ud Din, a spokesman for the minority group, told Reuters.

The deceased, an active member of the community, was standing at a bus stop for his usual Friday ritual of paying his respects at a graveyard, Din said.

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"We are investigating the motive behind the murder, (the suspect's) links to any religious party has not been found yet," said Asad Rehman, a senior police officer in Chiniot district.

In May, a seminary student stabbed Abdul Salam, 33, a member of the Ahmadiyya community in Okara district, a community activist told Reuters.

Members of the Ahmadiyya community, who see themselves as an Islamic movement, have witnessed several incidents of violence in Pakistan.

Rights groups have expressed concerns about the persecution of the Ahmadiyya community and say the government has not done anything to protect its minority citizens.

Community leaders say legislative moves in 2018 and anti-Ahmadi rhetoric during the elections have entrenched legalized hate.