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DATE: March 25, 2005
The Hindu American Foundation
(HAF) condemns the March 17 killing of eighteen Hindus and
the destruction of a Hindu temple in the town of Dera Bugti
within the Pakistani province of Balochistan. Among the dead
include five women and three children. Agence France Presse
reports that along with the temple, several homes were hit
by rockets resulting from skirmishes between Pakistani paramilitary
forces and Balochi tribals.
Several Pakistani politicians
have condemned the attack, including the chiefs of the Awami
National Party, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, the Alliance
for Restoration of Democracy, and the Baloch Alliance. HAF
applauds the courage of these leaders and sympathizes with
them as they confront the deteriorating situation in Balochistan.
HAF sincerely wishes that the dispatch of a delegation from
the combined opposition parties in the National Assembly will
uncover the truth behind these unnecessary deaths.
This incident points to
the growing intolerance within Pakistan. Pakistan’s
Dawn Newspaper reports an attack on a church in Punjab by
an Imam and his students from a neighboring mosque on March
16 soon after Asr prayers, taking matters into his own hands
after disagreeing with the construction of the church. Forty
people died on March 19 after a bomb exploded at a shrine
during an annual remembrance of a saint in the city of Gandava,
also in Balochistan. Against the backdrop of such violence
in one week, it is no wonder that Pakistan’s National
Commission for Justice and Peace’s (NCJP) “Human
Rights Report - 2005” notes a distrust of government
institutions among ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities.
The Report also states that 762 non-Muslims were forcibly
converted to Islam between 1999 and 2004. Among the 280 blasphemy
cases registered from 1987 to August 2004, 59 cases were registered
against Ahmadis, 65 cases were against Christians, and five
against Hindus. HAF endorses the views of the NCJP for Pakistan
to discontinue state-sponsored exclusivism by abolishing blasphemy
laws – largely seen as targeting minorities –
and abolishing the law requiring the head of state to be Muslim.
HAF expresses its strongest
concern that religious parties will prevail upon the Government
of Pakistan to include a religion column on future passports
of Pakistani citizens. Discontinued under the Zafarullah Khan
administration, the column would only identify and endanger
religious minorities within Pakistan. HAF hopes that the United
States will take up this issue with the appropriate Pakistani
authorities.
HAF is a non-profit, non-partisan
organization promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding,
tolerance and pluralism.
For further information: Please
contact HAF.
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