BJP to demand discussion on plight of Hindus in Pakistan

New Delhi: The BJP Parliamentary Party today discussed the plight of Hindus in Pakistan, which has forced many of them to flee to India, and the party decided to demand a debate on the issue in both Houses to impress upon the government to take up the matter seriously. Sources said BJP MP from Bhagalpur Shahnawaz Hussain raised the issue during the weekly Parliamentary Party meeting today. He said Hindus living in Pakistan are not only facing undue harassment, their cultural, religious and human rights are also being openly violated. [caption id=“attachment_297599” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“A woman sits alone while waiting for the celebrations on the first day of “Ganesh Chaturthi” at a temple in Karachi. Reuters”] [/caption] BJP has decided to raise the issue in Parliament and demand a discussion on the matter. Party MP from Varanasi and PAC Chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi had tried to draw the attention of the House in Lok Sabha last week. The party has pointed out that at the time of Independence Hindus formed 15 percent of the population in Pakistan but this has been reduced to 2 percent today. The main opposition had lent support to a group of Hindus who fled from Pakistan around a month ago and are staying at Jantar Mantar. They want the Indian government to provide them refuge and citizenship as they do not want to go back fearing more persecution. The issue of alleged forced conversion of Rinkel Kumari, which has been reported in some sections of the media, to Islam in the neighbouring country has also been raised in this regard. PTI