Karachi: Thirty-seven Hindus, comprising five families and residents of Thul town in Jacobabad district, have permanently left Pakistan for India due to security concerns.
Despite tall claims of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership, murders of Hindus, kidnappings for ransom and forced conversions are being carried out unabated across the Sindh province, Pakistan Today reports.
Like many other Hindus of the province who have migrated to other countries, these families have left the country after selling their properties and wrapping up their businesses.
Expressing serious concern over the situation, Hindu leaders have demanded that the government take notice of the incidents that are making minority citizens leave the country, and ensure their security.
“It’s extremely sad that the Hindu families who have been living in the province for centuries are being forced to migrate from their ancestral motherland,” Pakistan Hindu Seva (PHS) president Sanjesh Kumar said. “The government is not providing them adequate security.”
Kumar said that Sindhi Hindus are well-educated, working as professional doctors and engineers as well as agricultural workers, and running major businesses. “Their migration isn’t only causing brain drain, but also giving the country a bad name abroad,” he pointed out.
According to the national census of 1998, Hindus, who were 2.7 million in number at that time, are the biggest religious minority in Pakistan, and most Hindu leaders claim that their population has crossed seven million now, majority of whom live in Sindh.
ANI
First Published: Sunday, August 28, 2011, 10:01