LAHORE RIOTS

1953

The Ahmadiyya Movement is a modern Muslim messianic movement. The Islamic sect is marginalized in Pakistan and was regarded as heretics by other Muslims. An anti-Admadi coalition presented an ultimatum to government, asking for removal of all Ahmadis from top government positions and an official declaration that Ahmadis were not Muslims. When they did not receive an answer, the Ahmadis became targets of a series of violent riots.

In response to their persecution, the Pakistan Army declared three months of martial law. By that time, however, many historians believe that an estimated 2,000 Ahmadis were killed during the riots, while thousands more were left displaced. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Beall, A. (2019, October 14). Abdus Salam: The Muslim science genius forgotten by history. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20191014-abdus-salam-the-muslim-science-genius-forgotten-by-history

Khalid, H. (2018, September 21). Backlash against appointment of Ahmadi economist shows there’s nothing new about Naya Pakistan. Scroll.in. https://scroll.in/article/895187/backlash-against-appointment-of-ahmadi-economist-shows-theres-nothing-new-about-naya-pakistan

Shackle, S. (2019, October 28). The first Pakistani Nobel laureate few have heard of. Aljazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2019/10/28/the-first-pakistani-nobel-laureate-few-have-heard-of