External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on Wednesday
appealed to Pakistan to protect the constitutional rights of its
minorities by ensuring their safety, security and wellbeing.
He
hoped that Islamabad would discharge its constitutional duties towards
its minority communities in view of the purely humanitarian nature of
this issue.
The Minister was making a statement in
the Lok Sabha regarding the alleged ill-treatment of Hindus —
particularly women — in Pakistan, an issue that was raised by senior
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi on May 2 in the House.
He
said though the 1972 India-Pakistan Shimla Agreement specifically
provided for non-interference in each other's internal affairs,
“nevertheless, based on the reports of persecution of minority groups in
Pakistan, India has taken up the matter with Pakistan in the past.”
Pakistan had said that it was fully cognisant of the situation and
looked after the welfare of all its citizens, particularly the
minorities.
Recently, in separate incidents, three
Hindu girls in the Sindh province had reportedly been abducted and
married against their will to Muslim men, after being forcefully
converted to Islam, the Minister said and referred to a Pakistan
government press release which had stated that the Pakistan President
had taken serious note of the reports of the kidnapping of a Hindu girl
from Mirpur Mathelo in Sindh and alleged forceful conversion.
The
Pakistan President had called for a report from the provincial
government. “The President also called for transparent and expeditious
investigations in the matter and to take action in accordance with the
law regardless of the influence and status of anyone involved in
criminal activity,” Mr. Krishna said, quoting from the release.
In
November 2011, on the killing of three Hindu doctors in Sindh, the
President of Pakistan had called for a report on the incident and
directed immediate arrest of the culprits. He had said it was the moral
and legal responsibility of the government to protect members of the
minority community against vandalism and atrocities.
Mr.
Krishna said that while speaking on the occasion of Minorities' Day in
Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had, in August 2011, said:
“Unfortunately some extremist elements with a view to advancing their
own narrow and bigoted agendas have targeted the minorities. The
government, however, stands fully committed to foiling the designs of
these extremist elements. The perpetrators of crimes against the
minority community anywhere in Pakistan must be brought to justice and
they will be.”
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