Author: Ishtiaq Ahmed <Ishtiaq.Ahmed@statsvet.su.se>
Publication:
Date: October 24, 2003
Dear All,
Dawn has recently provided alarming
evidence of intolerance and persecution of Hindus in Pakistan's Sindh province.
As believers in equal rights for all and special protection for minorities
Asiapeace feels very concerned about the situation in Sindh. Just as the
carnage of Muslims in Gujarat is unacceptable to us so also any act of
persecution, exploitation and terror against Hindu citizens of Pakistan.
We condemn all acts of state terror as well as state-tolerated acts of
persecution and terror from the mainstream society. The word hari used
below refers to poor peasants or peasants working under conditions of slavery
or bonded labour. Bheels are a Hindu caste of very poor people.
Despite all this, it is my hope
that Diwaali will bring you and light into our hearts.
Best regards,
Ishtiaq Ahmed
Moderator Asiapeace - An electronic
discussion group
Homepage:
http://www.statsvet.su.se/stv_hemsida/statsvetenskap_04/hemsidor/ishtiaq_ahmed.htm
www.asiapeace.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asiapeace
Affiliate of Association for Communal
Harmony in Asia (ACHA).
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Stockholm University
106 91 Stockholm
SWEDEN.
Ishtiaq.Ahmed@statsvet.su.se
Hindus in Pakistan used a slaves
& tortured
www.dawn.com/2003/10/20/local26.htm
HYDERABAD: 13 farmers picked up,
tortured: HRCP
Bureau Report
HYDERABAD, Oct 19: The Qasimabad
police picked up 13 liberated Haris, including Mannu Bheel, and took them
to the police station where they were severely tortured on Sunday. A press
release of the Special Task Force, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan,
Sindh, said that a police mobile of the Qasimabad police station in a raid
at the Adal Noonari Goth, Ghanjo Takar, Unit No12, Latifabad, picked up
13 Haris. Their names were ascertained as Mannu Bheel, Mithu Bheel, Rano
Bheel, Sawai Bheel, Bai (wife of Mithu Bheel), Panna (wife of Mehru Bheel),
Damo Bheel, and Mehru Bheel. The remaining five were children. They
were blindfolded before being taken to the police station where they were
severely tortured. According to the HRCP, these people were being
forced to give a statement that nobody had kidnapped them or rather the
family members of Mannu Bheel. However, they refused to give any such statements.
Later, they were taken to the Latifabad Unit No8 police station where the
DPO, investigation, Pir Fareed Jan Sarhandi, told them that they had been
taken into custody "due to some misunderstanding". They were released about
12pm. It may be recalled here that nine family members of Mannu Bheel,
including his old parents, wife and children, were kidnapped from Jhuddo
on May 2, 1998, by a landlord of Sanghar. FIR No35 of 1998 was registered
at the Jhuddo police station regarding it.
Only recently, the Sindh governor,
Dr Ishratul Ibad, had directed the regional police officer, Hyderabad,
Ghulam Mohammad Malkani, to recover the kidnapped family. The RPO had appointed
the DPO, Investigation, Pir Fareed Jan Sarhandi, as inquiry officer. The
HRCP press release further said that the SHO, Qasimabad, had told the Haris
that they had been taken into custody under the orders of Pir Fareed Jan
Sarhandi and they should give a statement that Mannu Bheel's family had
never been kidnapped. t will be relevant to point out here that Mannu Bheel
has been on hunger strike ever since Jan 19 in protest against the kidnapping
of his family members.
4 Hindu families arrive from Pak
: Rashmi Talwar
Amritsar, October 23
Passenger rush in the Samjhauta
Express drastically came to an all-time low here today in the aftermath
of US strikes on Afghanistan. Four Hindu Pakistani families arrived here
to look for opportunities to migrate from trouble-torn Jacobabad. Unwilling
to be named for fear of retaliation and even elimination, the families
are from Jacobabad which has gained importance due to its air base being
used for strikes by the USA. Manish (all names changed) a kiryana merchant
from Chaman in Baluchistan near the air base, after much coercing said
his wife and a year-old daughter, along with his mother, were his main
"burden". His shop was set afire early this month when the USA began the
airstrikes. Since then he had been trying for visas to India. Pawan
(23) also travelled with his three-year-old son, as did Hira Lal and Shikhono.
They revealed that they were seeking
admissions for their children in India. Jacobabad air base has a Hindu
population of approximately 25,000 and several Sikh families.
Rajo, travelling with her husband and aged mother, wore her 'mangalsutra'
only after reaching India fearing identification of being "kafir".
Hindu women hardly ever step out of their house there. Even navratras are
celebrated quietly. It was revealed that girls of Hindu/Sikh families
were in great fear of molestation by angry Taliban who were present in
large numbers and incite their Pakistani counterparts to "teach the kafirs
a lesson". One passenger revealed that the Pakistan police scouted
Hindu temples and gurdwaras, hence even women were discouraged to visit
religious paces. Hindus and Sikhs were blackmailed and a "hafta" was
imposed on them if they undertook any construction activity, however, minor.
Teja Singh (67) cut short his visit to Pakistan to rush back to India.
"If trouble did not break out there I would have sought extension
again and again for my visa", he said. Meanwhile, according to intelligence
sources only about 350 passengers arrived here
Source :
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20011024/punjab1.htm
Struggle for joint electorate Upper
Sindh Hindus Panchayats decide to boycott local polls
From Ali Hassan JACOBABAD:
The Hindus community in Sukkur and
Larkana divisions on Friday evening unanimously decided to boycot
local council elections. This decision was taken by delegates of
the Panchayats from over one hundred towns and cities. The "All Hindu Upper
Sindh Convention" was hosted by the Jacobabad Hindu Panchayat. The host,
Sudham Chand Chawla, local president, while welcoming the guests briefed
them about the one- point agenda. He said 'Hindus have been given the status
of a fourth-class citizen in Pakistan.' The resolution declaring their
boycott of the local council elections was read by Rochi Ram a lawyer
from Mirpurkhas. The participants adopted the resolution with a resounding
voice and raised their hands. In the first phase of the devolution
of power, plan introduced by the government of General Pervez
Musharraf elections to local councils are going to take place on December
31. Nomination papers have to be filed on December 5. If the boycott
persist, it would be hard blow to the entire process. While Muslims have
been given the right of five votes. Hindus would exercise the right of
only one vote. Is this not a discrimination?" pointed outvarious speakers,
arguing that the constitution empowers citizens with equal rights'.
Participants wore black arm
bands. The convention was opened with a recitation from the Gita
and concluded with Pakistan Zindabad'. "Sohni Dharti, Allah rakhey qadam
qadam abad," was also frequently said throughout the proceedings of the
convention. Speakers from small villages and big towns of upper Sindh condemned
the separate electorate system which, according to them, 'caused bitterness
among the minorities and hardships on various issues. Speakers who
included former members of the national and provincial assemblies, were
of the firm opinion that a joint electorate was the solution to different
problems faced by the minorities'. Hari Ram Kishorilal, a former MPA said
'I belong to Mirpurkhas and it is difficult for the people of Jacobabad
to locate me in case they need the to solve their problems as the entire
country is our constituency. Mulkhi Sarwanand, former MPA, Petambar Sehwani,
former MPA, Ms Kalpana Devi, Hari Ram Kishorilal, former MPA, Sudhamal
Chand Chawla, President, Jacobabad Panchayat, Dr Mehr Chand, Milki Mal
of Rohri, Ram Chand of Khandkot, Dr Premchand of Shahdadkot, Dr Balchand
of Badani, Lachman Das, advcate of Ghotki, Mewa Ram Odh of Dokri, Mukhi
Bakhshomal of Thul, Khaniyalal of Kashomore, Dr Ramesh Lal of Kamber, Choudhry
amna Das of Khandkot, Ramesh Lal of Thul, Sari Chand Lal of Jacobabad and
others spoke at the gathering. Speakers exhorted the audience "to remain
united and fearless about the repercussions if any". A peaceful struggle
to reintroduce the joint electorate system should be launched. A handful
of participants asked "what would happen if people contest the elections
in violation of the conventions decision?" Rochi Ram told them that the
convention had taken a unanimous decision and if people violate it, they
would be the dealt of their community." When some speakers attempted to
offer an overall picture of the conditions which Hindus had been experiencing,
the organisers asked them to confine themselves to the agenda of the
convention. Kidnapping for ransom, kidnapping of girls, subsequently
their conversion under what they said was 'coercion' and discrimination
on various counts, are the factors which have made the Hindus of
upper Sindh lose heart.
Source: Daily Star, Karachi, dated
December 02, 2000
Pak Hindu leader wins ballot battle,
falls to bulletAuthor: Vivek Deshpande
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: February 1, 2002
A Prominent leader of the Pakistani
Hindu community, Sudham Chand Chawla, who successfully fought a legal battle
to ensure voting rights for Pakistani minorities, was shot dead by unidentified
assailants in the Pakistani city of Jacobabad on Monday. This was
revealed by relatives of the slain leader to mediapersons here.Pakistani
newspapers such as The News and The Dawn carried the news of the killing
which largely went unnoticed in India. A pall of gloom descended on the
Chawla residence here when his relatives heard it on BBC Radio the same
night. According to his brother Jagdish, who resides here along with
three other brothers, Chawla was scheduled to meet the Jacobabad collector
in connection with the electoral rolls when he was shot dead. the
Pakistan Supreme Court had restored voting rights to minorities a fortnight
ago following Chawla's sustained efforts. "Some Muslim organisations,
too, helped him in his endeavour but the fundamentalists probably didn'
like it and hence killed him," he said. Chawla, 45, was president of the
Hindu General Panchayat and the Jacobabad district chief of Pakistan People's
Party (PPP). He was one of the prominent Hindu leaders and was popular
among Muslims too. gathered at his residence and Jacobabad observed an
impromptu bandh when the news of his death spread. Hindus staged a highway
blockade which was eased after the administration promised to nab the culprits.
"Sindh traders observed a three-day bandh to protest the killing,"
Chawla's son Santosh said. Sudham Chand, who owned a rice mill, is survived
by his widow, a son and a six-month-old daughter in Pakistan and three
sons, Santosh, Manoj and Inder who moved to Nagpur a few years ago.
One of his brothers Kanwarlal is in Jacobabad while four brothers,
Jagdish, Ashok, Kishor and Daulat, had left Pakistan 25 years ago to settle
down in Nagpur. Sudham Chand was the eldest. His mother,too, is here for
the past one year while his father is dead. According to family members
here, Chawla had loved the Pakistan SC three years ago seeking restoration
of voting rights to minorities. "He was helped by people such as
former speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly Elahi Bukhsh Soomro," Jagdish
said. "He also valiantly fought for restoration of land which rightfully
belonged to the Hindus," he said. Sudham Chand was elected a corporator
in Jacobabad first in 1983 and then in 1987. In 1990, he bacame president
of the Jacobabad PPP and in 1994 became its district chief. In 1996,
during Benazir Bhutto's reign, he was named the chief of Upper Sindh
unit of the PPP, according to family members. "His killing has created
a feeling of insecurity among Pakistan Hindus and the Government of India
should do something about it," Jagdish said.
Hindus protest at 'Muslim abduction'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3039486.stm
About 500 Hindu women in Pakistan's
Sindh province have been protesting at what they believe is the abduction
of a teenage Hindu girl by a Muslim youth. The unprecedented protest has
been taking place in Jacobabad district, about 500 kilometres (350 miles)
from Karachi. Hindu leaders told the BBC the protests would continue
until Soni - the 16 year-old girl - was found. Soni's father rejected
suggestions she had eloped with a local Muslim shopkeeper. Police say that
on 26 June, a formal complaint was lodged that Soni, daughter of shopkeeper
Ashok Kumar, had been abducted three days earlier by a Muslim. Engaged
Head of the Hindu Panchayat in Jacobabad, Babu Mahesh Kumar, said
their demonstrations would continue until they knew where the girl was.
Ashok Kumar told the BBC his daughter was already engaged to a Hindu and
denied reports she had run off with the Muslim man, who is said to
have a shop in the area where the Hindu family lives. The investigating
officer, Mohammed Akram, told the BBC the Muslim man had gone to Balochistan
and police were unable to detain him. A local Hindu leader,
Kishan Lal, said this was the fourth case of abduction of a Hindu woman
in the district during the last year. He said about 20 women had
been abducted throughout Sindh province over the same period. The
Hindu population of Sindh is estimated to be more than 400,000. Community
leaders allege that the women who are abducted are forced to convert to
Islam and marry their captors.
http://www.geocities.com/hsitah2/hindumuslimmarriages.html
Idols missing from Pak temples
Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, July 1
Many idols in ancient Hindu temples
in Pakistan are missing and the government there has denied permission
to install new ones in place of these. Reports from across the border say
that the condition of most Hindu temples there has deteriorated since
the 1999 ban on the Hindu jathas visiting Pakistan. The government
of Pakistan is not allowing even local Hindus to look after their desolate
temples on the pattern of Sikh gurdwaras, which reveals its hidden
agenda to divide the minorities in the country, says Mr Mathura Dass Arora
(72), deputy leader of the last jatha of Hindus that visited the
Pakistan temples in 1999. "After this pilgrimage, the Hindus were not allowed
to visit Pakistan on the pretext that they were not safe there. If jathas
of Sikhs can be provided with security, the Hindus can be protected
as well," he told The Tribune. Mr Arora and his wife Mrs Sumitra said the
Hindu jathas had to face a lot of humiliation in Pakistan.
The ISI sleuths followed them everywhere
during their pilgrimage. Mr Arora, a history teacher, said, as part of
the national policy of Pakistan the Hindu temples there were not being
renovated on the pattern of gurdwaras. "Being a student of history," I
was shocked to hear from an employee of Pakistan's Evacuee Trust Board
that the Hindus were responsible for the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev and
not the Mughals, as claimed by Indian historians," he said.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the President of the All-India Hindu
Shiv Sena, Mr Surinder Kumar Billa, has said his outfit won't let the Lahore-New
Delhi bus service resume, if India and Pakistan fail to allow pilgrimage
to temples in Pakistan. The holiest Hindu temple in Pakistan, relating
to Mahabharata is Katasraj, which, too, is in a bad shape. Mr Billa,
who has visited the shrines twice in the past, said it was difficult to
locate certain ancient temples in Lahore and the other parts of Pakistan,
as these had not been opened to the public since the Partition.
Pakistan's consent to open certain
shrines came after a number of promises over the years - the first made
in 1955 by Ghazanfar Ali Khan, first Pakistan ambassador to India. The
first yatra to Katasraj fixed for 1956 was cancelled 12 days before the
scheduled visit. In 1960 and 1979, the story was repeated. In 1982, Mr
Billa and other prominent Hindus threatened to stop trains at Attari bringing
pilgrims from Pakistan.
The Nehru and Indira governments
never took up the matter with the Government of Pakistan seriously." The
first batch of Hindu pilgrims left for Katasraj in 1982, 35 years after
the Partition. The next batch went in November 1983. Gone were the pre-Partition
days of big religious festivals at Katasraj as fanatics in Pakistan had
made a number of attempts to damage the Sivalinga in this ancient temple.
The Sheetla Mandir at Lahore, built before the invasion of Alexander,
has seen many of its precious idols either looted or handed over
to the archaeological department. The Doodhwali Mata Mandir between Shah
Almi and Lahori Gate in Lahore survived in its dilapidated sanctum sanctorum.
The famous Parahlad Mandir and Jain Mandir near Anarkali in Lahore have
been locked and an Islamic school is being run in the compound of
the latter. Bhagat Hakikat Rai's samadhi, where a fair used to be held
every Basant day is also in a bad shape, though the festival is still popular
in Pakistan.
Source : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030702/main8.htm
Recently in Kashmore some 20 armed
personnel allegedly attacked villagers with rocket launchers, rifles
and other automatic weapons at a bus-stand, leaving 15 people dead including
a Hindu woman, and kidnapped nine villagers including threeHindus. "The
armed men threatened the Hindu communities of Kashmore and Thul talukas
to either leave the towns or face the consequences," said a local journalist
who was present at the incident.
Plight of Hindus in Pakistan
Kanayalal M. Talreja
Mr. Talreja was born in 1936 at
Dist. Sukkur, (Sindh,Pakistan). After the partition of the country, he
stayed in Sindh for 17 years, and obtained M.A. degree in English literature
from University of Sind in 1962. He was a first position holder upto
the University examinations.He was awarded four medals by the Governor
of West Pakistan. He launched his career as a primary teacher and reached
the position of lecturer in English at Government College Sukkur.He
fought dauntlessly for the rights of Hindus in Pakistan, and liberated
famous Sadhubella Temple from the grip of Pakistan Government in 1962.
In Sindh, he championed the cause of the depressed and down-traded Hindus.
He migrated to Bharat in 1964. The following is the account of his years
in Pakistan after 1947: "During those days, I saw every where total contempt
for Hindu and their gods. Hindus are treated as untouchables and served
water or tea in separate glasses and are not to visit Muslim
houses. The plight of Hindu girls and women is much worse. They cannot
go out freely or fearlessly. They could not go to schools or colleges,
as there was a chance of being abducted. Study of Arabic or Persian is
compulsory in all schools and colleges. Study of Islamic religion is compulsory
in all schools and colleges. The text-books carry venom and hatred against
Hindu and Bharat. Hinduism is berated as an inferior religion and Islam
is portrayed as a superior religion in the text-books. Their history books
extol Md. Ghazni, Ghori, Babar and Aurangzeb as heroes and run down
Rana Sanga, Shivaji and Rana Pratap as cowards. The next books state that
the Hindus are not the original sons of Bharat and that they came from
outside.
The textbooks highlight the rights
of Kashmiris and attack Bharat as the aggressor. The students are brainwashed
from the primary classes upwards and are turned into fanatics. Can any
one expect the Pakistanis to ever extend the hand of friendship in the
context of this indoctrination? No job higher than a clerk's post
is given to a Hindu. In spite of four medals for securing first position
in Four University examinations, and profound scholarship in Arabic,
Persian, and Urdu I was refused a lecturer's post initially. No Hindu
can run a business unless he has a Muslim as a sleeping partner. The Hindu
shop-keepers and businessmen must give goods or groceries to Muslims
on credit. When the businessmen go to the villages to collect the dues,
they are threatened and some times murdered.
Many of the Hindu temples have been
desecrated or destroyed or converted into Government offices or godowns.
The famous Ram Bagh garden in Karachi has been changed as Azam Bagh. Shraddhananda
Park in Sukkur has been changed as Gazi Abdul Rashid Park, after
the name of the killer of Swami Shradhananda. Illegal encroachments on
Hindu temples, goshalas and lands, molestation and abduction of Hindu girls,
demanding of huge ransoms in kidnap cases and frequent arrests of Hindus
on false charges are the order of the day in Pakistan. The population of
Hindus which stood at one crore in 1947 has come down to 17 lakhs.
When I came back to Bharat in 1964, I was astonished to find the
rights and privileges that the Muslims were enjoying here. There were Muslim
Governors, Collectors, I.A.S. Officials, Police Chiefs, Judges, Members
of Parliaments and Legislatures, Ministers and so on. After that there
have been Muslim Presidents also.
The Muslims have had their rights
protected by the Constitution. Hence they have been able to build mosques
anywhere and run their reliious institutions without any hindrance. They
have got the right to teach their religion in schools and colleges,
observe their customs and adopt their personal laws. They have the right
to start any business including slaughter houses to kill cows, and have
now acquired monopoly in many trades. They are able to freely propagate
their religion and resort to conversions.
They are able to freely propagate
their religion and resort to conversions. They are able to buy any property
anywhere and own it without any hindrance. The Muslims have been contesting
elections as a community and under the flag of the Muslims League which
divided the country. The Muslim population which was around three crores
after the partition in 1947 has now gone up to 14 crores.
<http://www.kashmiri-pandit.org/elibrary/articles/plightofhindusinpakistan-prn.html>
http://www.kashmiri-pandit.org/elibrary/articles/plightofhindusinpakistan-prn.html
Hindus in Pakistanhttp://www.bsos.umd.edu/cidcm/mar/pakhindu.htm
Mizan Khan (103), 07/28/94
Updates Deepa Khosla (116), 01/24/96
Michelle C. Boomgaard, 3/29/00
Amy Pate, 12/1/01
Hindus in Pakistan
Total Area of Pakistan: 803,943
sq. km
Capital:Islamabad
Country Population: 135.14 million
(U.S. Census
Bureau estimate for 1998)
Group Population: 2.703 million
(2.0%)
Analytic Summary
Hindus are most concentrated in
the Sindh province of southeast Pakistan (GROUPCON = 3). Before partition,
most Hindus in present-day Pakistan were urban, highly educated and economically
advantaged. However, most middle- and upper-class Pakistani Hindus immigrated
to India after the 1947 partition of the sub-continent. Those that
remained tended to be poorer and rural. Lacking the resources to organize
politically (large numbers are bonded labor), Hindus have remained politically
and economically marginalized in Pakistan. Hindus are a religious minority
in a Muslim country. They and their temples have periodically been
subject to violence at the hands of the country's religious majorities
(COMCO98X = 5). Their status within the country varies, in part, according
to relations between Muslims and Hindus in India. When their kindred across
the border destroyed the Babri mosque in 1992, for example, Hindus in Pakistan
suffered as Pakistani Muslims stormed temples and attacked Hindus. Hindus
are also suspected of being agents of the Indian government.
Hindus have been poorly organized
politically, with no national political party (ORGCOH = 0). Furthermore,
their identity is defined more by the dominent Muslim culture than by their
own self- assertion (COHESX9 = 1). Despite this lack of political history
and organization, Hindus have become increasingly vocal in the late 1990s
(PROT98 = 3), and have forged alliances with other religious minorities
(especially Christians) to agitate for increased rights. An organization
called the Pakistan Hindu Welfare Association and coalitions of Hindu panchayats
(local councils of elders) have led in political organizing. Hindus
have mainly organized around the issue of separate electorates, with
the Pakistan Hindu Welfare Association convening a national conference
on the issue in December 2000. (In the system of separate electorates,
members of religious minorities may vote only for members of their group
which results in their marginalization in the National Assembly.)
Protection from communal violence and economic opportunity (and the status
of Hindu bonded labor) also are important issues for the Hindu community
in Pakistan. Hindus, like Christians and Ahmadis, have also been disproportionately
affected by Pakistan's anti-blasphemy laws. Hindus in India, and
the Indian government, frequently lambast discrimination against Hindus
in Pakistan. However, they have extended little more than rhetorical support,
perhaps sensing that more than that would endanger rather than aid Pakistani
Hindus. Additionally, international anti-slavery organizations have lobbied
for the end of bonded labor in Pakistan, but have not undertaken "redemption"
efforts for Hindu bonded labor as they have for some other groups (most
notably, black Africans in Sudan).
Risk Assessment:
Given the weakness of Hindu political
organization,it is unlikely that Hindus will opt for open rebellion in
the near future. (However, reportedly, a Hindu organization did take responsibility
for at least one bombing in Islamabad in 2000.) But, they are likely
to continue the nonviolent political action begun in 1998. As the
Hindu population gains confidence in their political organizations and,
if they continue to build alliances with other minorities, their
condition may improve. Some mainstream Pakistani parties, including the
Sindh Democratic Party, and individual Muslim intellectuals have
expressed support for Hindu aspirations. Hindus still remain at risk
for intercommunal violence. The rise - and increasing militancy -
of fundamentalist Islamic parties add to this risk considerably.
However, political alliances with other communities and secularly oriented
parties may alleviate this danger. The stability of Sindh could depend
on such alliances, as they may be necessary to meet the sometimes desperate
resource needs of both the indigenous and immigrant populations. Chronology
1990 November: Security forces moved to protect Hindu temples in
Pakistan as thousands of Muslims protested against attacks on Muslims in
India. The actions in northern India followed attempts by Hindus to raze
the centuries-old Babri Masjid (mosque).
Anti-Hindu protests were staged
outside temples in cities and towns of southern Pakistan where most of
the Pakistani Hindus live. According to the latest reports, one Hindu man
was killed and four templeswere damaged by Muslim demonstrators. 1992 December:
Muslims attacked temples across
Pakistan and the government of this overwhelmingly Muslim nation closed
offices and schools for one day to protest the destruction of the Babri
mosque in India. Marchers shouted slogans such as "Crush India!" and "Death
to Hinduism". In Lahore, the capital of Punjab, Muslims used a bulldozer,
hammers, and their bare hands to demolish the Jain temple near Punjab University.
Police forces did not intervene, nor did they act when a crowd stormed
the Air-India office, dragged furniture into the street, and set the office
on fire (The New York Times,12/08/92).
Hundreds of members of India's Hindu
nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party marched on the Pakistan High Commission
in New Delhi to protest attacks against Hindus in Pakistan. At least 24
people have been killed in Pakistan and at least 100 temples were
attacked by the Muslims (The Dallas Morning News, 12/15/92). Hindus in
Pakistan assert that they are regularly accused of being "Indian agents".
The intolerance of Pakistani fundamentalists has reportedly grown so
strong that some members of religious minorities have begun to adopt Muslim
names (The Toronto Star, 12/04/92). 1993 January:
A comparison between the human rights
records of India and Pakistan in 1992, which was released by the US State
Department, reveals that if human rights were considered to be abused in
India, then the situation in Pakistan could only be described as
"appalling", with human rights "brutalized" on a systematic basis. The
State Department accused Pakistan of persecuting minority Hindus, Christians
and Ahmadis. Hindus asserted that they are subject to kidnappings, the
forced conversions of young women, and the desecration of Hindu shrines.
They also state that they are not permitted to freely practice their
religion (The Ethnic Newswatch, 01/29/93).
September: The cabinet of caretaker
Prime Minister M. Qureshi has established a Commission on Minorities to
look into the grievances of the country's minority communities and
to ensure that their shrines, temples and other places of worship are preserved
and well-kept. The Commission will consist of official and non-official
members. Offical members include the Minister in-charge of Minority Affairs
and the secretaries of the Ministries of Interior, Education, Law
and Parliamentary Affairs.
Update 01/24/96
1994 May: The number of religious
minorities charged under Pakistan's restrictive blasphemy law continues
to mount. Since 1986, when the law was established, 107 Ahmadis have been
charged with blasphemy. The blasphemy law allows a person to register a
case against anyone for blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad by word or deed.
In 1992, the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made the death
penalty mandatory for blasphemy; in 1993 the law was extended to
include the names of the Prophet's family. After months of criticism from
local and international human rights groups, Benazir Bhutto has promised
to introduce two amendments to the law. The first amendment would ensure
that the police register a case only after they are directed to do
so by a court of law. The second amendment stipulates a ten year jail term
for giving false information. These amendments are supposed to stop
the flagrant use of the blasphemy law in order to fulfill personal vendettas.
(Far Eastern EconomicReview, 05/26/94). 1995 February: Although Benazir
Bhutto's government had promised last year to introduce amendments to the
country's blasphemy law, these amendments have still not gone into
effect. In a wave of persecution of non-Muslims, all cremation grounds
outside of Sind were closed, preventing Hindus from making funerary arrangements.
(London Independent 2/19/95)
Update: 3/27/00 March 1995:
Alleged Hindu infiltrators shot
and killed two American diplomats in Karachi. (Japan Economic Newswire
3/8/ 95)
February 1996: Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto approved a parliamentary motion which would allow minorities
to have Atwo votes@ - one for the reserved minority seat which they have
always had and one for the general parliamentary seat. (Agence France Presse
2/27/96) September 1997: Hundreds of mostly Hindu peasants, waving placards
and banners and calling for the release of jailed friends and relatives,
protested in Karachi against forced labor in southern Pakistan's Sindh
province. Human rights activist Shakeel Pathan said about 4,300 poverty-stricken
peasants were languishing in the jails run by influential Sindhi
landlords. (Agence France Presse 9/8/97) March 1998: One person was
killed and another injured when a paramilitary soldier opened fire on a
group of Hindus protesting the national census, in the locality of Jumma
Goth in Karachi=s eastern Landi district. Trouble erupted when enumerators
carrying out a national census demanded money from the mostly illiterate
community for filling in census forms. The officials had earlier rejected
completed with the help of others. (Agence France Presse 3/7/98)
August 1998: Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif proposed a constitutional amendment to make the Koran the supreme
law of Pakistan. Deputies from minority communities including Hindus declined
to support the measure. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur 9/ 4/98)
June 1999: Pakistan's Minister of
Islamic Affairs, Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq, announced plans to bring websites
that are insulting to Islam to the attention of the United Nations and
the Organization of Islamic Conference. He noted the existence of at least
125 such websites and mentioned that Hindu parties were connected with
them. (Malaysian National News Agency 6/ 22/99)
August 1999: Hundreds of Pakistani
Christians as well as Hindus, Parsis and Sikhs staged a rally in
Lahore to demand the repeal of laws they said discriminate against non-Moslem
minorities in the country. (Agence France Presse 8/11/99)
October 1999: The Pakistani Army
staged a bloodless coup, removing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and
placing Gen. Pervez Musharraf in charge of the country.
References
1. Amin, Tahir, "Pakistan in 1993,"
Asian Survey, Vol. XXXIV, No. 2, February 1994.
2. Europa Publications, Far East
and Australasia 1994.
3. Keesings Record of World Events,
1990-94.
4. Far Eastern Economic Review,
1994.
5. Nexis Library Information, 1990-2000.
* 6. Norton, James K., Global Studies:
India and South Asia, (Guilford, CT: The Dushkin Publishing Group, 1993.
* 7. Phase I, Minorities at Risk,
overview compiled by
Monty G. Marshall, 07/89.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/7295/pha.html
4 Hindus killed in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD FEB. 9 2003 . Four Hindus
were killed by unidentified gunmen last night in a liquor shop in
the south-western Pakistani city of Quetta.The gunmen tied the hands of
six persons and opened fire, killing four. The other two, including
a Hindu, suffered
