The plight of religious minorities in Pakistan, especially of minority Hindus have been deteriorating as the Islamic extremism in Pakistan has been on the rise. There are several reports of Hindu girls being abducted and being forced to convert to Islam. Further, there are several instances of Hindu Temples being attacked and Hindu homes being bulldozed to the ground with the tacit support of the government. In one such news that has surfaced, it is being alleged that the Pakistani government is now bulldozing homes, mainly of Hindus, in the Umarkot district of Sindh-Pakistan.
Pakistani author and journalist Rahat Austin took to Twitter to release two videos of the incident.
Rahat posted a video of several houses being bulldozed and said that while the non-Muslim population of Pakistan has been gravely affected by the recent floods, but now, homes of Hindus are being bulldozed in Chor, Umarkot, Sindh-Pakistan.
“Recent floods have brought more misery to Non-Muslims in Pakistan.They are not only denied food & relief by Gov & NGOs but in this video homes of Hindus are bulldozed in Chor, Umarkot, Sindh-Pakistan. Same tactics were used during Corona lockdown to convert Non-Muslims to Islam”, he said.
https://twitter.com/johnaustin47/status/1306814674785067008?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwHe posted another video subsequently, where a man was heard saying, “Only Homes of Hindus are bulldozed”.
Rahat has also said that such tools of razing the houses of Hindus are tactics used for converting them to Islam.
“They are already affected by recent floods, not only rations & relief is denied to Non-muslims but their homes are demolished to make their lives more miserable. Such tools are used for conversions”, he said.
Hindu Basti razed to the ground in Punjab province of Pakistan
In May 2020, a slum which housed impoverished Hindu families he city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, Pakistan, was destroyed by the government. In a disturbing video that had gone viral on social media, a bulldozer was seen razing the homes of Hindus to the ground while the women and children begged for their shelter to be spared.
The demolition exercise was carried out under the watch of the Housing Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema. He is a member of the cabinet in Imran Khan’s government. Bashir was also accompanied by Shahid Khokhar who serves as the Principal Information Officer.
India at that time, had issued a strong demarche and demanded that justice be served to the Hindu minority that is being targeted based on their faith.
Religious persecution of minorities continues to be rampant in Pakistan. In the month of January this year, a Muslim had abducted a Hindu girl while her wedding was in progress and then proceeded to convert her to Islam and marry her.
In the wake of such incidents, the United States Of America officially launched a 27-nation International Religious Freedom Alliance in February 2020, which will try to protect and preserve religious freedom across the world. During the launch, USA especially highlighted the plight of Hindus in Pakistan.