1953 Lahore riots

Lahore riots of 1953
Part of the persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan
Badshahi Mosque, Lahore
Date 1 February 1953 – 14 May 1953 Location Lahore, Pakistan Result See Aftermath section Military suppression of the riots Mass anti-Ahmadi violence ended Lifting of martial law over Lahore Dismissal of Khawaja Nazimuddin’s government by Ghulam Muhammad
Belligerents
Pakistan Army Punjab Police	Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat
Commanders and leaders
Azam Khan Rahimuddin Khan	Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi Syed Faiz-ul Hassan Shah Syed Abuzar Bukhari Maulana Mazhar Ali Azhar Master Taj-ud-Din Ansari Abul Ala Maududi[1] Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi Chaudhry Muhammad Akbar Sialkoti[2][3] Mian Tufail Mohammad
Casualties and losses
4 soldiers killed	11 killed[4] 49 wounded
Between 200[5] to 2,000 Ahmadis killed[6]

The 1953 Lahore riots were a series of violent riots against the Ahmadiyya movement, a faith marginalized in Pakistan, mainly in the city of Lahore, as well as the rest of Punjab, which were eventually quelled by the Pakistan Army who declared three months of martial law.^[5] The demonstrations began in February 1953, soon escalating into citywide incidents, including looting, arson and the murder of somewhere between 200^[5] and 2000 people.^[6] Thousands more were left displaced. According to the official inquiry conducted by the Punjab Government, the actual number killed in these riots was around 20. The first page of the inquiry says that before the declaration of martial law, the police killed two people on the night of 4th March and ten the 5th. 66 people were admitted to Lahore hospitals with gunshot wounds. The military attempting to quell the disturbances in Lahore admitted to killing 11 and wounding 49. There were additional casualties in other towns.^[4] Seeing that police were unable to contain the increasingly widespread unrest, Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad handed over the administration of the city to the army under Lieutenant General Azam Khan, imposing martial law on 6 March.

One of the major controversial differences between Ahmadis and mainstream Muslims is their different interpretations of Khatam an-Nabiyyin. Mainstream Muslims are awaiting the coming of the Mahdi and the Second Coming of Jesus and reject the claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad whom Ahmadis believe to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. The Ahmadiyya Community was a vocal proponent of the Pakistan Movement and were actively engaged with the Muslim league having strong relations with many prominent Muslim Leaguers and were opposed to the Congress backed Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam.^[7] After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Ahmadis prospered and reached many high ranking Government and Military positions in Pakistan, due to an extremely high Literacy rate. They held up stay as an important political force in Pakistan, due to its support for secularism and acted as a counterbalance to Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam.^[7] This group was disillusioned and disorganized after 1947 and politically isolated. Even before partition one of its primary targets was the Ahmadiyya movement. However, in 1949, the Majlis-e-Ahrar launched countrywide campaigns and protests resulting in a ban on Majlis-e-Ahrar in 1954.