It turned out to be a rumour that around 25 members of Ahmadiyya community managed to gather at a ‘disputed’ worship place in Rawalpindi to attend Friday prayers, when local police carried out a search operation of the building on the request of a mob, fraught with great emotion, gathered in front of the worship place.

The rumour was aired by none other than Sharjil Mir, the head of so-called Action Committee Khatm-e-Nabuwat. However, later it exposed that Mir had spread that disinformation, as he was being snubbed by one of the caretakers of the worship place for interrupting an employee of WAPDA, who was supposed to drop the electricity bill at the worship place, and for curiously examining the bill.

“Did you check our electricity bill? If so, then in what capacity?” these were the questions Sharjil Mir was asked by a caretaker of the building.

Feeling insulted, the situation forced Mir to gather a mob by spreading disinformation – where he claimed that 25 members of the community were offering prayers inside the building and that he was being threatened by one of the caretakers.

Local police was informed about the situation that a mob is fast accumulating in front of Ahmadiyya’s worship place. Station House Officer (SHO) of New Town area rushed to the location, where he tried to pacify the situation by flouting an idea that Mir should file an application with the local police about the issue.

A white paper and a pen were brought from a nearby house and it was written on it that Mir was given life threats by one of the caretakers of the worship place.

“Why did you check our bill? I will see you,” at first this line was written in the application but later on insistence of mob it was rephrased as, “Why you checked our bill, I will kill you.”

Application carrying charges of life threats was later submitted with SHO New Town, worship place was searched and mob dispersed.

The episode shows the magnitude of hate-campaign based on inappropriate and false allegations against the Ahmadiyya Community.

The aforementioned worship place located at E Block of Satellite Town has been closed for all type of worship activities for the past one and a half years. Even the Ahmadiyya Community is not allowed to offer Eid prayers here.

Aiwan-e-Tauheed – a worship place of Ahmadiyya Community in Rawalpindi – turned controversial approximately one and a half years ago, when a local trader Sharjeel Mir spearheading a campaign has demanded to shut down the worship place after terming it “unconstitutional and against Islam”.

At the start some prayer leaders and seminary students of nearby areas joined him, but later the campaign was hijacked by clerics of banned outfits. Sensing the gravity of the situation, the city administration had imposed a ban on observing Friday prayers at the worship place.

Earlier, on January 29, 2012, around two thousand people including activists of banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Jammat ud Dawa (JuD) and students of religious seminaries of Rawalpindi carried out a massive rally near the Ahmadis’ worship place against what they termed “illegal and constitutional act” of the community.

The Action Committee is of the view that the House where worship place is established was purchased by Ahmadis for residential purpose but later they converted it into a mosque, however, the administration of Eiwan-e-Touheed claims otherwise.
“Across the world, it is a common practice that administration takes stand for right but here the situation is complex. The environment filled with hate for the community has also compelled the administration to go with the wrong side,” said on of the caretakers of the worship place.

He denounced Action Committee for causing split not only amongst Muslims and Ahmadiyya community but also between Muslims and Muslims.