The causes relate to a noticeable rise in the incidence of abduction and forcible conversion of Hindu girls, which sometimes end in marriage under duress. The cases of Rinkle Kumari, Dr Asha and Lata were widely reported in the Pakistan media, and internationally, following their abduction and forced marriages in February this year.
Source/Credit: Deccan Chronicle
By Deccan Chronicle | August 12, 2012
Unlike some Islamic countries where religious minorities do not enjoy legal protection against discrimination, Pakistan does have equality laws for people of different faiths. In practice, however, Hindus and Christians in this overwhelmingly Muslim-majority country — created for the Muslims of the subcontinent — have had many grounds for complaint.
Not so long ago, in a case that had hit the headlines, a poor Christian woman was attacked on the patently false charge of blaspheming the Prophet. Even as the minuscule liberal sections of opinion in the country stood by her and civil society organisations spoke up in her defence, official Pakistan watched uninterestedly. Subsequently, Pakistan Punjab governor Salman Taseer, who cautioned against the misuse of the country’s anti-blasphemy law, was killed by his own bodyguard who was lionised across the country, including the high court lawyers of Lahore. The only Christian minister in the government at the time was also assassinated. Of late, it is the Hindus, mostly residents of Sindh and Balochistan, who appear to be coming under threat, with little genuine assistance coming from the government or the courts.
When about 250 Hindu families attempted to cross over to India through the Wagah border on short-term visas recently, Pakistan interior minister Rahman Malik criticised India — without naming it — for hatching a “conspiracy” to make Hindus flee Pakistan in order to defame it. This is the “yatra” season and many Pakistani Hindus visit India at this time each year for religious reasons, their spokesmen have pointed out. But they have also detected the tendency of late for many Hindus to stay back in India on a permanent basis.
The causes relate to a noticeable rise in the incidence of abduction and forcible conversion of Hindu girls, which sometimes end in marriage under duress. The cases of Rinkle Kumari, Dr Asha and Lata were widely reported in the Pakistan media, and internationally, following their abduction and forced marriages in February this year. Their cases went up to the Supreme Court, but the system could not help these young women. They now carry Muslim names.
Many Hindu families have sold their businesses in Upper Sindh areas and have fled to Karachi, but it is hard to say if they are safe. It will not be surprising if such people, facing constant religious persecution, entertain thoughts of migrating to India. President Asif Ali Zardari has done well to order an inquiry into these unfortunate incidents. We hope Mr Malik will now be more restrained in his utterances. The religious issue is always sensitive. New Delhi cannot avoid the responsibility of drawing Islamabad’s attention to the plight of Pakistan’s Hindus and urging it to take measures to restore confidence.
Read original post here: Pak must protect minority Hindus
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.