Islamabad: Forced conversions and increasing incidents of kidnapping have instilled a “deep sense of insecurity” in the minority Hindu community in Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan, a provincial minister has said.
A total of four girls and three boys of the Hindu community were forcibly converted to Islam last year, said Minister for Human Rights and Minority Affairs Basant Lal Gulshan. At least 25 Hindus were kidnapped for ransom this year.
“There were 55 cases last year and we are witnessing a sharp rise this year,” he said. Rajesh Kumar, a pharmacist, was kidnapped from outside the Bolan Medical College Complex in Quetta about one-and-half months ago. His whereabouts are still unknown. Hindu families had been migrating from Quetta, the provincial capital, following the increase in abductions and forced conversions, Gulshan told The Express Tribune.
“At least 50 Hindu families have migrated from Quetta alone,” he said. These families had moved to rural areas of Balochistan and Sindh “because their rights were not safeguarded in Quetta”. Authorities have not begun investigating cases of forced conversion reported in Loralai, Chaman and Sibi areas, he said.
Gulshan criticised the Balochistan government for its lack of interest in the rights of minority communities. (PTI)