Hindus rally against Jodhpur killings

Protesters say sit-in outside Indian HC will continue until demand for transparent probe met

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistani Hindus on Friday staged a demonstration outside the Indian High Commission in Islamabad against the tragic killing of 11 members of their community in the neighbouring country.

Eleven members of a Pakistani Hindu migrant family were found dead under mysterious circumstances at a farm in India’s Jodhpur district of Rajasthan state on August 9.

The participants of the sit-in, organised by the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC), assembled near the Indian High Commission on Thursday night.

Speaking to reporters, PHC Patron-in-Chief Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani said the murder of the family had exposed India's false claim of being a secular state. “India wants to use the Hindu community as spies against Pakistan and anyone who is not willing to do this is killed in this manner,” maintained the PHC patron-in-chief, who is also a member of the National Assembly.

“We want to tell India that we Pakistanis know how to fight for the rights of our citizens,” he added.

The protesters called for a transparent investigation into the murder and postmortem results to be shared with Pakistan.

Those present at the protest said the sit-in outside the Indian High Commission would continue until their demands were met. They shouted slogans against the BJP government in neighbouring state, saying that the Hindus of Pakistan were not safe In Modi's India.

Federal Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry visited the site of the sit-in to express solidarity with the participants.

Speaking on the occasion, he said the government would fully back the Hindu community’s demand for a transparent investigation into the Jodhpur incident.

The minister said the Modi government had turned India into a fascist state, which was a threat to its neighbouring countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and China.

“India should be answerable to the unjust bloodshed of Pakistani citizens in India,” he added.

 The Pakistani diaspora in Britain has also appealed to the British government and the United Nations (UN) to take strict action against the killings. Leaders of the UK Pakistani community condemned the killing and reaffirmed their support for the protests by the Hindu and Sikh community in front of the Indian HC.

A day earlier, Vankwani said Indian intelligence agencies tried to coerce Pakistani Hindus visiting India into speaking against Pakistan and do not hesitate to kill people who refuse to comply with their demands.

Vankwani had also said that despite repeated requests by Pakistan to share the details of the probe into the mysterious death of its citizens, India was not cooperating.

The patron-in-chief had also met Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi earlier over the incident.

Kumar had apprised the foreign minister about the anxiety in the Pakistani Hindu community over the incident, saying that they were desperately waiting for justice to be served to the aggrieved family.

The foreign minister informed Dr Kumar that Pakistan had taken up the matter forcefully with the Indian side through diplomatic channels both in Islamabad as well as in New Delhi.

Immediately after the incident, Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi had asked the Indian authorities for the provision of access to the surviving member of the bereaved family, sharing of copies of the FIR and initial investigation report, and facilitating the presence of the High Commission for Pakistan’s representatives during the post-mortem of the deceased.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi assured the MNA that Pakistan will continue pushing India to provide the requisite information without any further delay and carry out a comprehensive investigation into the matter and share its findings with Islamabad.

WITH INPUT FROM APP