Punjab govt agency bans Ahmadis from buying land in plot auction

The Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA) has barred Ahmadiyya committee from participating in the plot auction even in Chenabnagar, where the headquarters of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya is located.

PHATA published an advertisement on April 17, 2022, for a property auction, in which PHATA Sub-Region Deputy Tariq Mehmood directed that only “Muslims” would be eligible to bid for 17 residential and commercial plots.

The auction is set to take place across several locations, including Satellite Town in Jhang and various development areas in Chiniot, Chenabnagar, and Shorkot.

The advertisement explicitly stated that individuals identified as Ahmadi, Mirzai, Lahori, or Qadiani would not be allowed to participate in the auction.

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If anyone from the Ahmadiyya community is found to have participated, their money, plots, or any related assets would not be returned under any circumstances.

The decision faced backlash from human rights advocates, legal authorities, and groups representing minority rights, who contended that it breaches Pakistan's constitutional promise of equality, and the fact that it originates from a government entity makes it even more reprehensible. 

Article 25 of the Constitution clearly guarantees equal legal treatment for all citizens, forbidding discrimination on religious grounds, they argued.

Legal experts maintained that PHATA’s policy of exclusion is unconstitutional. Human rights attorney Ehsan Ullah Jatt said, “This constitutes a blatant infringement of fundamental rights. If a governmental organisation overtly discriminates against its citizens based on their faith, what hope remains for equality under the law?”

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Amir Mahmood, a representative of the Ahmadiyya community, criticised the policy, stating, “This issue extends beyond just land plots—it is about the state supporting apartheid against Ahmadis. If we are excluded from fundamental economic opportunities, how can we consider ourselves equal citizens?”

In response to the outcry, neither the Punjab government nor officials from PHATA provided any explanation or reasoning for the exclusionary clause.