[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 21, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H3004-H3005]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PERSECUTION OF AHMADI MUSLIMS IN PAKISTAN

  (Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts was recognized to address the House 
for 5 minutes.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to a grave 
injustice unfolding in Pakistan. Last December, an Ahmadi Muslim 
educator, Mubarak Ahmad Sani, was sentenced to life in prison; not for 
violence, not for incitement, but for possessing a Koran.
  Mr. Sani was convicted under Pakistan's blasphemy laws. His sentence 
is a stark reminder of how these laws stifle the ability of religious 
minorities to study, to pray, and to express themselves freely.
  Sadly, Mr. Sani's case is not an anomaly. It reflects a systematic 
persecution of Ahmadi Muslims who are denied equal citizenship rights 
in Pakistan. They are prevented from calling themselves Muslims under 
Pakistan's Constitution, jailed and prosecuted under anti-Ahmadi laws, 
denied the right to participate freely in elections, and even prevented 
from burying their dead with dignity.
  In Pakistan, discrimination has been given the weight of the law. 
This has emboldened extremists to target the Ahmadi Muslim community. 
Extremist groups, most notably a far-right Islamist party known as TLP, 
have engaged in a coordinated campaign of persecution. They vandalize 
mosques, form intimidating and violent mobs near community events, and 
even kill worshippers.
  Incidents such as these are reported with disturbing frequency. Those 
responsible are very rarely held accountable. On the contrary, local 
authorities often bow to extremist pressure. They fail to prevent or 
contain violence. Then, to add insult to injury, they detain the 
victims of the attacks.
  This climate of impunity sends a dangerous message: that persecution 
is permissible and that some lives are less worthy of protection than 
others.
  In recent months, the government has taken steps to crack down on the 
TLP. Ahmadi Muslim communities have been able to breathe a little bit 
of a sigh of relief, and that is welcome.
  However, human rights are interrelated and interdependent. The right 
to religious freedom cannot be guaranteed without also guaranteeing the 
right to freedom of assembly, to freedom of expression, and to equal 
protection under the law.
  That means the Pakistani Government must take serious, sustained 
steps to address these broader crises. It

[[Page H3005]]

must reform or repeal laws that criminalize religious identity, ensure 
accountability for acts of violence, and uphold the rights of all 
citizens equally regardless of belief.
  Mr. Speaker, the implications of this injustice are global. When a 
state legitimizes persecution, it weakens the universal principles of 
human rights and emboldens similar abuses elsewhere.
  I urge the U.S. State Department to speak out clearly and forcefully 
to press the Government of Pakistan to release Mubarak Sani from 
prison, end its persecution of Ahmadi Muslims, repeal discrimination 
and discriminatory anti-Ahmadi laws, and uphold its international human 
rights obligations.
  I believe when all is said and done, Mr. Speaker, that if the United 
States of America stands for anything, we need to stand out loud and 
foursquare for human rights. I hope we will do so in this case.

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