Deserted Sikh Gurdawara in Abbottabad, Pakistan due to fear of attacks from Islamic extremist

Lahore, Pakistan (CHAKRA)— A prominent Sikh Businessman has been receiving threats from religious extremists who have been attacking his business multiple times in the eastern city of Lahore.

Sardar Bishon Singh claims to have been threatened a multitude of times ranging from threats of death and financial loss. He served as President of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. The threats have been in regards to staying quiet over issues.

In addition to the threats, textiles worth up to Rs 7 million was looted from his shop in Azam Cloth Market. He was very upset at the loss but even more upset after hearing threats of death numerous times thereafter.

Singh moved to Lahore from the tribal areas of Pakistan in 1993 and since has been very vocal for Sikh rights and has spoken against the Pakistani government making unjust decisions against Sikhs. Singh has been selling imported textiles in the province of Lahore since he moved there.

When Singh went to open up his store and start his daily operations as every day, he entered his store to find that the building landlords had cut off his power and constructed another shop, blocking the way to his shop.

Singh decided to look into this matter and see if the building of such a shop blocking his was even legal. He found that there was no designated space for the new shop and approached the court where he obtained a stay order. After receiving a stay order, and presenting it to his shop building owners, they threw him out of the tower and closed his shop yelling racial slurs, he stated.

When he attempted to report a complaint with the local police, instead of looking into the issue at hand, they instead looked into whether Singh belonged in Pakistan or not. They simply decided to inquire on his residency in Pakistan because he was not Muslim, implying that Pakistan is only for Muslims.

He even tried to reach Malik Owais, the Superintendent of Police of Model Town, but Mr. Owais simply stated that he had no time entertain Sikhs and had to deal with more important issues.

Singh said the next step he took was he contacted Zahid Aslam Gondal, the Deputy Secretary for law and order in Punjab but said he was not treated well.

Singh is mortified by the number of steps he has had to take yet no action has been taken to consider his safety in the country. He is upset that even when living in one of the safest cities in Pakistan, he has no protection. If this is the way he has to live, he hopes to be allowed to migrate out of the country so that he does not have to feel trapped for years to come. He says he will continue to fight for what is right and belongs to him.

Pakistan (CHAKRA) - Tausiq Kumar, a resident of Islamabad, Pakistan, has recently applied for asylum in India, after his relative, Ramesh was murdered while trying to resist a kidnapping. Kumar, a trader is a resident of Patel Bagh near Quetta, from where he applied for asylum.

According to Kumar, the Hindi community in Balochistan, is full of fear of kidnappings and other abuse which leads to a lifestyle full of insecurity and uncertainty. There is a 27,000 strong community of Hindus in the area of Pakistan. Although Kumar had been considering for a while to move to India, Ramesh’s murder is what brought him to take action immediately and apply for asylum. He said that he first considered moving out of Pakistan when a local Hindu Priest was kidnapped and never found again.

Just after his relative’s murder, Kumar got in touch with the Indian High Commission, filed an application and then has been waiting for a response. Since he got no response for a few months, he has now moved into Islamabad where he is staying at a guest house and taking steps to speed up the process. Kumar knows a number of people who have applied to move to India, fulfilled the criteria and migrated to India. He is hopeful that he will be one of the next few that are chosen to leave Pakistan for good.

Saeed Ahmed Khan, the Balochistan director from the federal human rights ministry stated that over 24 Hindu families from the area are looking to move to India due to daily fear.

In the last three years, at least 43 Hindus have been kidnapped from the province of Balochistan of which three resulted in fatalities. Regardless of how many times the issue has been brought forward to the government, parliamentarians have either ignored the complaints consistently or at last resort have tried to blame the intelligence agencies themselves for the kidnappings according to Khan.

Hindus feel more safe in the Baloch area of the province as opposed to the Pakhtun area. They also felt safer when Hindu activist Akbar Bugti was alive because he provided the Hindu minorities protection and support that they needed.

Kumar is still patiently waiting for his file to process so that he can move to India. In the meantime he was looking for a safer place to reside at but is unsure if such a place even exists anymore due to the constant targeting of Hindus across the province.

Narathiwat, Thailand (CHAKRA) - In Thailand’s South, six people were shot dead and ten police officers were wounded by a roadside bombs during the latest attack by militants.  Most of the people attacked during this outbreak were in serious condition and taken immediately to the hospital.

A police vehicle was targeted with an explosive device while they were rushing to the Bacho district in the province Narathiwat in response to a report of attacks there.

Six Buddhist villagers who had been out hunting were later found shot dead.  The suspects for these deaths are Islamic militants.

A separatist insurgency which began six years ago in Thailand’s troubled Muslim majority southern provinces bordering Malaysia has left more than 4,000 people dead, mostly buddhists, as well as thousands more wounded.

The militants who never directly state their goals and intentions in public have targeted Buddhists,  police officers and civilians in the southern provinces to maintain a shocking campaign against the control of the central government.

The troubled southern region was an independent Malay Muslim sultanate until it was captures in 1902 by majority Buddhist Thailand and the tensions have never stopped or decreased since then.  These issues only escalated into the insurgency in January, 2004.

Karachi, Pakistan (CHAKRA) – An activist and council member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Amarnath Motumal, stated that at least 20 to 25 girls are abducted and converted to Islam against their will every single month. Hindus are targetted due to many local muslims seeing them as kafirs(non muslims) and therefore of lower class as well as evil.

Motumal further stated that this number is lower than the actual numbers because many cases go unreported due to fear of families and loved ones being killed.  “A large number of Hindu girls in Karachi alone are being kidnapped on a routine basis.”  Threats are commonly given by the dangerous kidnappers that if they are reported, the families will hear of their daughter’s death.

Motumal said that the word “Hindu” has become an insult and almost a shame for all Hindus in the Islamic state of Pakistan because of impoverished state 90% of Hindu families live in.  He addressed that the government and others in power are to blame for the lack of rights available to the Hindu community.  Only a few families come to Motumal for help while the majority keep their losses to themselves hoping that not speaking up will devoid them of future misfortunes.

A former MPA, Bherulal Balani said that Hindu girls in specific scheduled classes are the ones mostly being abducted from the Lyari area.  “Once the girls are converted, they are then sold to other people or are forced to do illegal and immoral activities,” Balani said.  He also added that the hostage takers are very powerful and that is primarily why reports are going awry if they are even made to begin with.

The interior South of Pakistan is where the number of kidnappings has increased within the last three months including nine reports which have been made ranging from kidnappings, to forced conversions, rapes and murders.

In the Nagarparker area, a 17 year old girl was raped and in another incident a 15 year old girl was abducted from Aaklee village, Tharparker followed with a forced conversion.  Almost 71 families travelled from the village to protest against the abuse against the girl.

Even on the festival of Holi during celebrations, two Hindu girls, Kishni and Anita were kidnapped from Kotri.  On the same day, Ajay and Sagar, two other boys were also kidnapped from an area close by.

Amir Gul, was murdered by her landlord at the beginning of March in Tando Haider.  Later in March, Kishan Kumar was kidnapped from Kandhkot, Jacobabab.

MPA Pitamber Sewani said that one of the reasons these acts against Hindu minorities are taking place is because the culprits believe that the minority will support the government in “local body” elections so they want to harass these Hindus to alleviate the support level in upcoming elections.

President of the Pakistan Hindu Council, Ramesh Kumar criticized the minority Hindu community representatives for not standing up and letting their voices be heard at important forums.  He said that these leaders were simply representing their parties and not the poor people and their real issues.  He also added that the dire economic conditions, especially in Kandhkot and Jacobab have led to kidnappings and other abuse of the minority Hindus.

Coordinator HRCP Task Force Sindh Dr. Ashothama Lohano said that according to a report, the most pinpointed and harassed communities in the area are of Hindu and Christian communities.  He stated that “The recent wave of extremism is one reason, which has destroyed the harmony of the land of Sufis. Another reason is the destruction of the agriculture sector and small markets that has led to frustration and lawlessness. Yet another reason is that the elected representatives are working only for the party and not for the community.”

He further stated that the minority Hindu community was an easy target because they did not stand up or speak up against the violations due to fear.  At the same time though, if they chose to speak up and take action they were accused of having Indian connections or killed by local Islamic groups.

Jaisalmer, India (CHAKRA) – Pakistani Hindus are petrified after the recent chain of kidnappings of Sikhs and Hindus by the Pakistani-based Taliban group.

Many Pakistani Hindus are now applying for visa’s to escape to India to flee the chaotic Islamic state of Pakistan.  However, since relations between the two countries are currently at its lowest point, many Hindus in Pakistan are being rejected by the Indian mission in Islamabad.

Fear has spread among the Sikhs and Hindus of Pakistan after the atrocious beheading incident involving a young Sikh man because of his refusal to convert.  Furthermore, the Pakistani State has failed to protect the rights of the religious minorities which has left them feeling helpless while living with daily fear.

Bhavru Ram Bheel, who was a resident of Pakistan’s Rahmiyar Khan area, has moved to India through the Thar Express and stated that about ten families (up to 60 people), have permanently left Pakistan and travelled by train to India.  He says there are many more waiting to be accepted into India for protection.  He said that the young women of Hindu families feel threatened because the Taliban has unleashed terror among the Hindus because the Taliban has kidnapped many of the Hindu’s women.  He said that Taliban members tried to kidnap his daughter’s several times but they managed to save their daughters honour and consequently have left everything behind to spree to India in search of safety and a new home.

Nenuram Gomad Ram, another passenger of a train said “The Taliban had launched a campaign to convert the Hindus into Islam. The Hindus who resist were subject to torture and even killing. That is the reason the visa application for India has increased manifold in recent times.”  To get out of these hard times, many Hindus are desperately applying for Indian visas.

The Hindu Singh Lodha of Frontier People’s Organization said Pakistan is in a state of anarchy and that Hindus especially need help finding a way to India.  He said that the Indian Embassy is not taking this matter seriously and is issuing visas at a very slow pace.

The Indian home ministry had reportedly stated visa restrictions for the number of Pakistani Hindus and Sikhs to be allowed into the country because of the threat associated with any type of immigration into India from Pakistan.  If such restrictions are not made, they claim, it will be much easier for Pakistani terrorists to enter India.

Since the Taliban fanatics identify Pakistani Hindus as people of India, it has left Pakistani Hindus feeling helpless and with a sense of homelessness because they feel that they are being pushed out of Pakistan and at the same time not readily being accepted into their original home country—India.

Buddhists are constantly attacked in Majority-Muslim Bangladesh

Bangladesh (CHAKRA) – A human rights group in New Delhi has requested UN intervention after attacks on tribal areas in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh.

“The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) has demanded the intervention of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Navi Pillay to ask Bangladesh government to take appropriate action on the burning of tribal buddhist villages and indiscriminate killing of tribals by the Bangladesh Army and illegal settlers Saturday,” said director of ACHR, Suhas Chakma in a statement.

Newspapers and media companies in Bangladesh have reported that the authorities have deployed soldiers after over 100 houses in a village in addition to a Christian church, a Buddhist temple as well as an office of a UN-funded project were set on fire in Bagaichhari sub-district under CHT Saturday.

A sacred statue was damaged and another stolen at the Banani Buddhist Monastery.

Six people, all Buddhists have been killed by a mob of Muslim settlers in the midst of the attacks according to people in the Chakma tribes.

“This attack on the indigenous buddhist  people shows that the government of Bangladesh has failed to change its policy of indiscriminate killings of tribals and minorities win order to occupy their lands and implant more illegal plains settlers instead of implementing the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord of 1997,” stated a Chakma tribal representative.

There has been many reported attacks on Buddhist and Hindu tribal villages since 1997 in Bangladesh which have now become occupied by Muslim villagers and landowners. Many critics call this a genocide against non-muslim minorities by neighboring muslim villages and the Islamic Bangladeshi government.

Peshawar, Pakistan (CHAKRA) – Days after the abduction and beheading of two Sikh men in the lawless tribal area of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan, a Hindu man has now reportedly been kidnapped for a ransom of ten million rupees. 

A local politician stated that, Robin Singh, a computer engineer, was kidnapped by unknown people, on his way to Nowshera for work.  He was last seen on Friday, at a market, on University Road.

Sahib Singh, a member of the district assembly in Peshawar has stated that the kidnappers have demanded ten million rupees from Singh’s family.

Robin Singh’s brother has filed a police report at West Cantonment police station said Sahib Singh.

Unsurprisingly, officials at the police station said they were not aware of any filed case or First Information Report regarding Singh’s abduction.

They confidently said that Robin Singh probably was not abducted from their jurisdiction and the filed report may be elsewhere.

Yesterday, President Asif Ali  Zardari, made a public statement condemning the abduction of Robin Singh.  He said he directed authorities to take steps towards retrieving Robin Singh.

Singh’s family and relatives are feeling very helpless and are fearful, that Singh may be found in a state like the two Sikh men, Jaspal Singh and Mahal Singh, who were abducted and beheaded just days earlier, in the same area.

Four more Sikhs are still being held by the Taliban.  The killing of the Sikh minority, a miniscule population and harmless in Pakistan, is being strongly condemned by the Sikh community.

Peshawar, Pakistan (CHAKRA) – Two Sikhs heads were sent to a gurdwara after Taliban members reportedly beheaded them in a lawless tribal area of Pakistan which borders Afghanistan. 

On January 19, businessmen Jaspal Singh and Mahan Singh from Tira Valley in Khyber agency and Darra Adamkheil in Orakzai agency, were kidnapped.  They were held for ransom, and when the ransom was not paid up by the deadline, Jaspal Singh and Mahan Singh were brutally beheaded by Taliban members.

The reason for their murders, according to security sources in New Delhi was that they were told to convert to Islam, or else they would face death.  When they refused, both of their heads were severed off and sent to the Bhai Joga Singh Gurdwara in Peshawar.

The Indian government has made clear that this brutal killing was not acceptable under any circumstances and is in touch with the high commission in Islamabad.  They are looking into the “serious incident” said a source.

The actions of the Taliban members are in line with Hitler’s methods during the Holocaust.  The Taliban has put the small Sikh minority population in Pakistan, under pressure to convert to Islam.  During the Taliban’s full power in Afghanistan, they had imposed the jiziya tax—a religious tax—all all minorities of which most are Hindus and Sikhs.  Furthermore, all minorities were required to wear a yellow piece of cloth on their shirts to be visibly identified as non-Muslims or “kafirs” as they called it.

A Truck destroys Barthi Tara Kali Hindu Temple in Gouranadi, Bangladesh

 Gouranadi, Bangladesh (CHAKRA) –  During the late hours of February 10th 2010  a heavy loaded truck suddenly hit the boundary of a historic 200 year old. In this destructive accident, a notable portion of the historic Hindu temple was demolished. 

Afther the Dhaka metor Da-11-1896 suddenly hit the boundary of the holy temple and demolished the historic hindu temple the local police came and took the truck which occured 4 hours after the actual accident. 

The local Hindu devotees expressed their great shock on this accident while some people shared that this may be a planned attack on the temple since in the last few months hindus in the area were given numerous threats by extremist Islamic groups instructing them to shut down their ‘kafir’ (a word used to reference non-muslims in a negative context) temples.  

The Hindu community is repetively ignored in muslim-majority Bangladesh and therefore weekly occurences of hindu and buddhist temples being destroyed and attacked are rarely filed by the police or covered by the media, even at times when extremist Islamic groups have announced responsibility.