Resident of Sindh province becomes first Hindu pilot to be inducted into Pakistan Air Force, says local news outlet

Lahore: In a first for Pakistan, a Hindu has been selected as a pilot in the country’s air force. The youth, Rahul Dev, has been recruited as a General Duty (GD) pilot officer in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Daily Pakistan reported. Dev hails from Tharparkar, the largest district in Sindh province, which is the home to a large population of Hindu community, local media reported on Monday. [caption id=“attachment_4960181” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] All Pakistan Hindu Panchayat Secretary Ravi Dawani expressed happiness over the youth’s appointment in PAF. He said that many people from the Hindu community are serving in the civil service, army and practising in the medical field. The development comes amid reports of religious discrimination against the minorities in Pakistan. Several incidents of forced conversions and marriages of minors and women, and vandalisation of places of worships of minority communities have come to light in the country. Earlier in 2018, Mahesh Kumar Malani of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had become the first-ever Hindu candidate to win a National Assembly (NA) seat in Pakistan’s electoral history. This came 16 years after non-Muslims won the right to contest general elections and exercise their franchise. Malani, who contested from the NA-222 (Tharparkar-II) seat in Sindh province, garnered 106,630 votes, whereas his political challenger Arbab Zakaullah, of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), managed 87,251 votes, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). In 2016, a Sikh ranger from Pakistan, Amarjeet Singh, participated in the traditional beating the retreat ceremony at Wagah Border, for the first time ever. Singh belongs to Nankana Sahib, the holy city of Sikhs situated in Pakistan. He is said to be the first person ever from the Sikh community to join the Pakistan Army, according to Pakistani media.