ISLAMABAD: A Hindu representative body in Pakistan has sought support from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the formation of an inter-faith committee in an effort to end rising atrocities against religious minorities in the country, days after a Christian couple were burnt to death.
The Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) has proposed setting up of an active interfaith committee at the federal level under Sharif to prevent incidents of violence against minorities and promote interfaith harmony.
The Dawn reported that the executive committee of the PHC met yesterday in Karachi to review mounting atrocities against religious minorities across the country.
It condemned the brutal killing of a Christian couple in Lahore for alleged blasphemy, which created fear and increased sense of insecurity among members of the minorities.
The meeting, presided over by PHC president Chela Ram Kewlani, condemned the kidnapping of Hindu minor girls.
Highlighting the need for interfaith harmony and legislation for a Hindu marriage law, the PHC called upon the prime minister and provincial chief ministers to ensure effective implementation of laws to protect minority rights.
The meeting proposed that state minister for religious affairs Amin-ul-Hasnat Shah, prominent minority figures and at least one member from each religious party, including the Jamaat-i-Islami, be part of the interfaith committee. PML-N lawmaker Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, also patron-in-chief of the PHC, said incidents of kidnapping of Hindu girls, forced conversion and forcible marriages were grave issues faced by the Hindu minority due to the absence of the Hindu Marriage Registration Act.
He said the constitution guaranteed rights to the minorities and recalled Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s 1947 speech that clearly said that it was the first duty of the state to ensure welfare of the minorities and protect their rights.
Vankwani regretted that the Sindh government had failed to address the minorities’ issues and to protect their places of worship, cemeteries and properties.
“Similarly, the misuse of the blasphemy laws to meet personal designs on a larger scale resulted in harassment of the minorities,” he said.
The meeting was also attended by other prominent Hindu representatives and advisers from across the country.
According to official records, Hindus constitute about 1 million, while Christians and Sikhs account for over 2 million and 20,000 respectively, of Pakistan’s population.–PTI
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