Pakistani mob demolishes mosque belonging to minority sect

ISLAMABAD – Sunni extremists have demolished a mosque belonging to Pakistan’s minority Ahmadi sect in the eastern city of Sialkot, the latest mob attack on minorities in the country.

No one was inside the Ahmadiya Mosque and there were no casualties in the pre-dawn assault on Thursday. The mosque had been shut years ago by authorities to avoid violence.

A video of the attack surfaced on social media, showing a mob demolishing the mosque, which is said to have been visited by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who founded the Ahmadi faith in the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century. His followers believe he was a prophet.

Pakistan declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974.

Ahmadis make a tiny minority of the Muslim-majority Pakistan and are often targeted by Sunni militants who consider them heretics.