Lahore riots of 1953
| Lahore riots of 1953 | |||||||
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.jpg) Badshahi Mosque, Lahore |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Pakistan
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Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Azam Khan Rahimuddin Khan
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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 Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| between 200 and 10,000 Ahmadis killed with support of army and government 3 Jawans and 1 NCO of Baloch Regiment killed in riots |
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Decisive military suppression of riots
The Lahore riots of 1953 were a series of violent riots against the Ahmadiyya Movement, mainly in the city of Lahore, Pakistan as well as the rest of Punjab, which were eventually quelled by the Pakistan Army who declared three months of martial law. The demonstrations began in February 1953, soon escalating into citywide incidents, including looting, arson and the murder of somewhere between 200 and 10,000 Ahmadis, while thousands more were left displaced. Unable to contain the increasingly widespread civil disorder, Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad handed over the administration of the city to the army under Lieutenant General Azam Khan, imposing martial law on March 6.
One of the major controversial differences between Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and mainstream Sunni and Shia Muslims is their different interpretations of Khatam an-Nabiyyin. Sunni and Shia 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 Muslim 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. 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. 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.
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