In yet another act of vandalism, a group of people on Thursday stormed the premises of an Ahmadi place of worship located in Karachi’s Martin Road area, a spokesperson for the community said. According to Amir Mehmoid, the unknown miscreants vandalised the minority community's worship place in a vintage area of Karachi, historically inhabited by a predominantly immigrant population from India. The area was once known for its tolerance and away from the sway of extremism. Sharing the ordeal, the spokesperson revealed that on Thursday morning at approximately 11:30am, a group of eight to 10 people gained access to the place of worship using a ladder and proceeded to vandalise the belongings. Read More: Dr Abdus Salam documentary: Haunting reminder why Pakistan needs heroes despite breeding them "The attack has resulted in a huge damage to the belongings of the Ahmadis within the worship place, including windows, glass doors, wooden doors, cameras, LED screens, tables, and chairs," he lamented. He further disclosed that the attackers, in a bid to insult, defaced images of the founder of the Ahmadi community and its present head. "Although the police were called to the scene, the miscreants had already fled by the time they arrived," he claimed, adding that efforts were underway to register a case regarding the incident. A similar attack occurred in the same area on January 18. During this earlier incident, approximately eight to 10 people attacked the minarets, desecrating them and causing damage to the worship place's building. Read More: Ahmadiyya community’s local head convicted of blasphemy in Algeria The spokesperson said that in the aftermath of this prior attack, the community had registered a case with the Jamshaid Quarters police station under FIR No. 29/23. “But, unfortunately, no action was taken and according to our knowledge no arrest was made in this regard,” he regretted. He urged the authorities to take immediate action against the culprits responsible for the recent attack on their worship place, expressing deep regret that due to previous inaction, these miscreants had once again targeted their place of worship. Notably, this marks the fifth incident of its kind within a span of nine months where an Ahmadi worship place has been subjected to such an attack. ”Not only were the properties vandalised, but the minarets were also partially damaged, bearing a resemblance to the incident that occurred on January 18, 2023," he disclosed.
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