Pakistani Hindus call on government to guarantee protection of minorities

Karachi: Minority Hindus on Sunday demanded the provincial and federal governments to implement already existing laws that guarantee the protection of minorities and immediately amend the Hindu Marriage Act to end the rampant kidnapping and forced conversion of girls.

The Pakistan Hindu Council, the representative body of the minorities in the country, on Sunday held an emergency meeting of its executive body to express concern over rising incidents of kidnapping of the members of the Hindu community.

The meeting demanded that a committee be formed under the supervision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and of leaders of mainstream political parties in order to stop atrocities against minorities and promote inter-faith harmony.

The executive committee of the council reviewed the overall situation of minorities in the country and expressed grave concerns over the incident in Kasur district in the Punjab province, where an angry mob beat up a Christian couple and threw them in a brick kiln.

The meeting observed that the savage execution of the couple was inhuman and highly condemnable.

Chela Ram Kelwani, who was presiding over the meeting in a press conference, told the media that they were concerned about the kidnapping and forced conversion of a Hindu girl from Dahrki town.

The meeting also observed that a girl named Kiran was kidnapped from Nawabshah city and another one named Jayuti was abducted from Hyderabad.

Kelwani further said that about one and a half years ago, the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued strict orders to protect minorities in the country but both the federal and the provincial governments failed to implement the apex court orders.

“The minorities are still exposed to vulnerability and atrocities as they were one and half years back when the Supreme Court ruling came,” Kelwani said.

Dr Rumesh Kumar Vankwani, who is patron-in-chief of the council said that the constitution of Pakistan guarantees the protection of minorities in the country but successive governments have been unable to implement the laws in letter and in spirit.

Vankwani further said that the blasphemy law in the country was being misused to settle personal scores and to harass minorities. He further said that the incident in Kasur had frightened minorities in the country and also brought disrepute to the country’s name in the international community.