Pakistan: Ahmadi man killed by suspected TLP members in Karachi

Speaking to Dawn.com, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said: “[Around] 400 Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers gathered at the hall near the mobile market.”

He said police were already deployed in the area in the wake of the recent attacks on the community in  Shah Latif, Surjani and Khokhrapar areas of the metropolis.

DIG Raza told the newspaper that the police, Rangers, and district administration took swift action and provided protection to the Ahmadi community members present inside the place of worship.

He said that an incident occurred near the auto parts market, located near the community hall, where “a man was allegedly beaten up by the TLP workers,” adding that he was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The DIG said the Ahmadi members said the deceased person was part of their community.

“The police are ascertaining the veracity of the claims while CCTV footage is also being obtained,” he said.

The Ahmadi community spokesperson Amir Mehmood told Dawn.com that, “The deceased, who was a known figure of the community, was passing through the area around 100-150 meters away from the place of worship when TLP members recognised him and began beating him, leading to his death.”

Preedy Station House Officer (SHO) Shabbir Husain confirmed to Dawn.com that a man, identified as Laeeq Cheema, 46, was “filming the TLP workers near Hashu Centre when the mob started beating him and killed him.”

The SHO further told the newspaper: "We called a prison van to move around 45-50 members of the community inside the community hall to a safe place."

Amir Mehmood said he was not aware that the deceased person was filming the mob.

Ahmadiyya or Ahmadi is an Islamic religious movement originating in 1889 in northern India around the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who claimed to have been divinely appointed as both the promised Mahdi and Messiah expected by Muslims to appear towards the end times.