Jalandhar : A group of Pakistani
Hindus have urged the Indian government to grant them either
refugee status or citizenship, claiming that they are not
treated well in their home country.
The group members are currently on a visit to the city on
tourist visas.
"If the Indian government can't give us citizenship then
they should give us refugee status...We are not treated well
in our country," Shobha Ram, one of the Pakistani Hindus,
said.
"Since January, around 400 families have come here from
Pakistan and are taking refuge with their relations in parts
of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan,"
Surinder Kumar Billa, who heads the All India Shivsena, an
organisation working for Pakistani Hindus, said.
"The government is doing injustice to the Hindus by not
giving them a permanent settlement," he alleged, and demanded
that the government should consider their cases on
humanitarian ground.
PTI
First Published: Friday, December 16, 2011, 17:04