Amid COVID-19 outbreak, Hindus in Karachi forced to convert to Islam, PM Imran Khan receives flak

Religious discrimination is a never-ending issue in Pakistan which has been running since 1947 and there is no remedy till now. Pakistan has over 20 crores population, out of which around 3.4 million people belong to the Hindu community and the majority of which are Dalits or people of Scheduled Castes.

Minorities have never been treated equally in the country, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan promised to eradicate this issue but hasn’t chalked out any plan for the minorities so far. Even under his leadership, so many Hindus are still going through painful torture like the religious conversion (Hinduism to Islam) and forced marriages to elderly men.

In yet another shocking news in Pakistan’s Karachi Hindu family was forcibly converted to Islam amid coronavirus pandemic. It has been learnt that a Hindu family in Karachi, Pakistan was allegedly attacked by Maulvis or Muslim clerics and forced them to convert to Islam

The victim was identified as Basant Kudar, who is a Hindu. Basant and his mother were threatened to be killed if they did not abide by the order. Basant’s brother narrated the whole incident in a video.

However, an FIR was registered against the accused. Minorities in Pakistan are facing persecution as they are regularly being threatened by the Muslims to convert to Islam.

The world knows that atrocities against Hindus and Sikhs have grown to a great extent in Pakistan since it came into existence. Minorities in the neighboring country are being persecuted. Thousands of minority girls have been abducted and forcefully converted to Islam and married off in Pakistan. No one can raise their voice against atrocities, if someone does, his voice is suppressed.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been criticized a lot on social media for not taking stringent action against culprits. The accused have no fear for the law in the country and that is why they commit such heinous crimes in broad daylight.

FYI, thousands of such abductions happen every year and hardly one of two cases draw media attention and this is a reality about how minorities are treated in Pakistan, which proudly calls itself a democracy. We are leaving it to your imagination about how Hindus are treated harshly.

Writer, historian, and activist Dharam Sikarwar is a very active author The Youth. He writes on national and international issues, environment, politics. He is an avid book reader as well.