Govt conscious of concerns of minorities: Zardari

President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the government is conscious of the concern of the minority communities about misuse of certain laws against them, and expressed hope that the religious leaders, parliamentarians and members of civil society would deliberate on the issue and recommend measures to prevent misuse of laws against the minorities.
He was heading a meeting of the parliamentary committee appointed to look into the grievances of Hindu community on Tuesday that called on him at Bilawal House in Karachi.
President had appointed a four-member committee comprising of Senator Maula Bux Chandio, MNA Lal Chand, Senator Hari Ram Kishori Lal and Dr Khatumal Jeewan on August 10 to visit various districts of Sindh and meet the people from Hindu community and report on their grievances.
Of the committee, Senator Maula Bux Chandio, MNA Lal Chand and Senator Hari Ram Kishori Lal presented a preliminary report on the grievances of the Hindu community in the country.
Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah also attended the meeting. Senator Maula Bux Chandio informed the president that some Hindus had complained about abduction of girls of their community and their forcible conversion to Islam which had caused resentment and sense of insecurity among them.
The committee proposed that a case of abduction should be registered against the culprits in the future and it should be treated as abduction until the girl makes a confessional statement before a court of competent jurisdiction and the court decides otherwise.
The committee also briefed the president about some of the recent incidents involving members of the Hindu community. According to its findings, the Immigration Authorities at Lahore stopped 222 Hindus who were Pakistani citizens from entering India on 10 August 2012 even though they had valid visit visas for India. However, later on, after necessary enquiry by FIA and the fact that they all possessed valid visas, the Hindu pilgrims were allowed to visit India for Terath Yatra.
It said that since the Hindus were regularly visiting India for religious purpose, they protested against the concerned authorities for the unusual act of stopping them. The report said that the incident of Manisha Kumari’s conversion to Islam led to protests by members of the Hindu community and subsequent registration of cases against 28 Hindus for violation of 144 CrPC by the local police in Jacobabad also added to their grievances. The committee informed the president that the two incidents were mixed up and led to misleading reports about Hindus.
The president appreciated the committee for visiting different areas and preparing a preliminary report.
He reiterated the commitment of the government to provide every protection to the minorities and to safeguarding their constitutional rights. He said that no one would be allowed to impose its agenda upon the minorities as it went against the teachings of Islam and the fundamental principles of our constitution. The minorities would not be allowed to be discriminated against and they would be provided full protection of law, he continued.