Fact-Check: Punjab govt ad bars Ahmadis from state land auction in Chiniot

Multiple users on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook have shared an image of a Punjab government advertisement, claiming it explicitly bars members of the Ahmadi community from participating in a residential plot auction in the Chiniot district of Punjab.

The claim is true; however, the restriction applies specifically to one housing colony within the district.

Claim

On April 17, several social media users on X (Twitter) and Facebook shared the picture of a Punjab government advertisement, claiming it explicitly prevents Ahmadis from applying for the auction of residential plots in the Chiniot district.

Separately, other social media users were seen questioning the authenticity of the ad.

Fact

The advertisement was indeed published and it does bar Ahmadis from taking up residence in a colony in Chiniot, confirm officials.

On April 17, the Lahore-based Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA), a government-run department tasked with developing housing schemes for low-income groups, published an advertisement in the Faisalabad edition of the Urdu-language Daily Dunya newspaper.

The ad invited the public to participate in the auction of residential and commercial plots, ranging from one marla to one kanal, in the Chiniot and Jhang districts. The auction is scheduled for the month of May.

The last section of the ad read: “According to order number 3/76.H.M.III/1, dated July 7, 1976, issued by the Government of Punjab, Department of Housing, Urban Development, and Public Health Engineering, no individual belonging to the Qadiani/Ahmadi/Lahori/Mirzai sect is eligible to participate in the auction within the area of the development scheme, Muslim Colony, Chenab Nagar” in Chiniot district.

The ad also requires that any person participating in the auction for this specific colony must submit an affidavit declaring belief in Khatm-e-Nabuwwat (Finality of the Prophethood, PBUH).

Tariq Mehmood, the deputy director of PHATA in Jhang, whose name appeared on the advertisement, confirmed to Geo Fact Check that his department did indeed publish the ad, which disallows Ahmadis from participating in this particular public scheme.

“Yes, we had a meeting over this and then we sent this ad for publishing,” he said over the phone. “But this condition [for Ahmadis] is only for this colony.”

Mehmood added that the restriction dates back to a 1980 rule passed by the then-governor of Punjab. “Whenever we carry out allotments in this area, the local administration is required to collect an affidavit,” he said.

Meanwhile, Khalid Ijaz, the record keeper at PHATA in district Jhang, also corroborated that the ad was indeed published.

Verdict: The Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency did publish an ad explicitly barring members of the Ahmadi community from participating in a public auction for plots in Muslim Colony, Chenab Nagar area of the Chiniot district.

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