Incidents of abduction of Hindus and Sikhs girls,
for forced conversion and marriages to Muslims, as well as for ransom have
increased, a Pakistani official told the Times of India newspaper.
Pakistani parliament member Dr. Haresh Chopra of the Pakistan Muslim League
was in India seeking Indian parliamentarians who would take up the issue of
plight of Hindus and Sikhs as it did in case of illegal transfer of real
estate in Pakistan, the Times reported.
His motive was “to put international pressure on Pakistan government to
protect minority communities.”
The Times reported:
Chopra, who is also member of standing committee on human rights, was here on
a personal visit on the invitation of Nankana Sahib Sikh Yatree Jatha
President Swaran Singh Gill.
“I receive information of at least two cases of abduction of Hindu and Sikh
girls in a week,” he said. There are organized gangs of mullahs and
terrorists, who even abduct minor girls of minority communities and procure
their age certificates with Muslim names from madrassas proving them adults.
“In such cases we can’t do much to save the children,” he added.
Chopra, who is a member of parliament from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly known
as the North-West Frontier Province, said, “Being a soft target, many Hindus
and Sikhs are abducted from the province for ransom, but cases of forced
conversion are more in Sindh province.
“Those who can’t bear their persecution anymore often think of migrating to
India as they are not financially sound enough to shift to European
countries.”
Incidents of abduction of Hindus and Sikhs,
especially of girls, for forced conversion and marriages to Muslims, and for
ransom have increased in the recent past in Pakistan, said Punjab's ruling
party, Pakistan Muslim League (N) member parliament Dr Haresh Chopra talking
to TOI here on Saturday.
Chopra has also sought Indian parliamentarians to take up the issue of plight
of Hindus and Sikhs as it did in case of illegal transfer of gurdwara lands in
Pakistan so as to put international pressure on Pakistan government to protect
minority communities.
Chopra, who is also member of standing committee on human rights, was here on
a personal visit on the invitation of Nankana Sahib Sikh Yatree Jatha
president Swaran Singh Gill. "I receive information of at least two cases of
abduction of Hindu and Sikh girls in a week," he said. There are organized
gangs of mullahs and terrorists, who even abduct minor girls of minority
communities and procure their age certificates with Muslim names from
madrassas proving them adults. "In such cases we can't do much to save the
children," he added.
Chopra, who is MP from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly known as the North-West
Frontier Province, said, "Being a soft target, many Hindus and Sikhs are
abducted from the province for ransom, but cases of forced conversion are more
in Sindh province. Those who can't bear their persecution anymore often think
of migrating to India as they are not financially sound enough to shift to
European countries."
"Being a minority MP, I have always been raising issues in the parliament and
demanding protection for minorities, but that's all I can do," he said.
Chopra squarely blamed Pakistan Evacuee Trust Property Board (PETPB) chairman
Sayed Asif Hashmi for doling out gurdwara and temple properties. "PETPB is
acquiring the properties, selling them to builders at higher prices and there
is no one to stop all this," he added.
Meanwhile, Swaran Singh, who often takes Sikh jathas to Pakistan, asked him to
press Pakistan government for increasing the frequency of jathas from India.
