Caravan for justice

This year, the 75th anniversary of formation of the United Nations is being celebrated across the globe. After World War II, the international community had joined hands to establish a global forum to ensure world peace, global harmony and peaceful resolution of various disputes. Just after two years of the UN formation, Pakistan and India emerged on the world map as independent and sovereign states.

Unfortunately, innocent vulnerable communities have been in trouble in India from day one. Most recently, a tragic incident happened last month in the Indian state of Rajasthan where an eleven-member Pakistani Hindu immigrant family was found dead in mysterious conditions. Whether it was mass suicide or murder, the mystery still needs to be solved.

Being patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, my stance in this regard is very clear that the victim family members were Pakistani passport holders, and thus, the access for Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi must be ensured. I was informed by the Foreign Office that despite many requests Indian government is not willing to cooperate with Pakistan.

The Foreign Office wanted to resolve the issue on the diplomatic front and therefore, I was asked to show patience. On the other hand, Shrimati Mukhi, the daughter of the poor family, alleged that her family was targeted by the Indian intelligence agencies due to refusal for participating in anti-Pakistan activities. In the past, India had also covered up the Samjhauta Express incident in a similar way.

During my recent meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, I made clear that the victim family belonged to the Bheel community, and resided at Shahdadpur in the Sanghar district, Sindh. It is therefore our just demand that an transparent investigation of the tragic deaths of Pakistani Hindu nationals be carried out.

If a similar tragedy had happened with a US, British or Chinese national there, could the Indian government dare act in such an irresponsible manner? It is the duty of our government to raise this issue before the international community. We must inform the world powers that the blood of Pakistani nationals will not be allowed to go in vain.

I am grateful to the Pakistani media for providing due support on this humanitarian issue. No doubt, it is also a matter of our national dignity. After the meeting with foreign minister, my press conference was telecast live on all TV channels. On this occasion, I announced that we have no more patience to waste time. The ultimatum, given by Pakistan Hindu Council, has ended. It is now our democratic right to adopt a peaceful protest in the form of a sit-in (Dharna) outside the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

Answering a question, I informed that thousands of patriotic Pakistani Hindu nationals are waiting for my final call. In the next few hours, caravans from all over the country will start moving towards Islamabad. In my view, this is the only option left to wake up the international community. I am thankful to my community who have succeeded to join the historical protest.

We would like to showcase to the international community, especially the UN, that the current Indian regime is not only violating the vision of Mahatma Gandhi but also putting the lives of millions of people at stake. The controversial Indian Citizen Act is in fact a honey trap to destabilize the region. Thw Pakistan Hindu Council is also committed to welcome all those Pakistani immigrants who are willing to come back.

Today, all Pakistani citizens, regardless of their socio-religious affiliations, must join our noble struggle to bring justice to the victims of the Jodhpur incident. Every peace-loving good human being is invited to participate in this historical event. Our sit-in will not end until the FIR copy, the post-mortem report, forensic details and other relevant information are shared by the Indian government.

The writer is a member of the National Assembly and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council.

Twitter: @RVankwani