HYDERABAD/KARACHI, April 17: A clash between activists of leftist and secular political groups and workers of a religious party was saved from intensifying on Tuesday outside the Hyderabad Press Club, where the former had converged to stage a demonstration against alleged forced conversion of Hindu girls while the latter had arrived to protest against targeted killing of their workers in Karachi.

The situation turned tense when an activist of the Sunni Tehrik during the protest by the Sindh Progressive Committee — a group of seven leftist and nationalist parties — objected to alleged remarks against the shrine of Bharchundi, where the alleged forced conversions took place.

While ST spokesman Abid Qadri blamed the protesters belonging to the SPC for giving a hiding to party worker Gul Zaman Qadri, who had raised the objection, that brought the situation on edge, the SPC’s Bukshal Thallu accused the ST of sabotaging the anti-religious extremism demonstration.

A contingent of police deployed there, meanwhile, called a prison van and took over a dozen of activists from the press club to a police station.

Earlier, Comrade Iqbal of the Communist Party of Pakistan, Taj Mari of the Awami Party, Akbar Khoso of the Jeay Sindh Mahaz (JSM), Bukshal Thalu of the Labour Party Pakistan (LPP) and Allah Ubhayo Dahiri of the Workers Party Pakistan (WPP) speaking to the protesters said that Sindh was a land of Sufis who promoted peace and brotherhood, but certain groups were using religion for their own vested interests.

They said Sindh did not belong to a particular religion and people from different faiths had been living here peacefully for centuries. They said they were first the Sindhi and then Muslim, Hindu or Christian as they all believed in equality.

Condemning the alleged kidnapping, forced conversions and marriages of Hindu girls, they demanded that Rinkle Kumari, Asha Kumari and other such persons be returned to their families.

‘Seeds of hatred’

Speaking at a similar rally organised by the SPC outside the Karachi Press Club, WPP leader Yusuf Mustikhan said that Hindus, Christians, Muslims and all other communities living here had equal rights. He demanded that the government ensure that no community was harassed.

For the past some time, he noted, seeds of hatred had been sown by the vested interests to create unrest in society.

He alleged that some influential people in the upper part of Sindh were behind the harassment of the Hindu community whose girls were being kidnapped and converted by force. He demanded that all such girls be returned to their families and kidnappers taken to task.

The JSM’s Abdul Khaliq Junejo said that Hindus were native Sindhis and had been living here as equals for thousands of years, but unfortunately some people in the northern part of Sindh were supporting the people behind the kidnapping of Hindu girls.

He said it was the government’s duty to protect the life and honour of all citizens, but it had failed miserably. He said that progressive and nationalist forces would not leave the Hindu community alone.

The LPP’s Nasir Mansoor said that Sindh was the motherland of all Sindhis irrespective of their caste and creed. All the Sindhi Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Shias and Sunnis inherited equal rights and status on this land, he said.

Women rights activist Mehnaz Rehman said the Quaid-i-Azam had assured the minority communities that there would be no discrimination against them on the basis of religion. It was unfortunate that the guiding message of the Father of the Nation had been forgotten, she said.

Jan Mohammad Buledi, Usman Baloch, Manzoor Razi, Dr Jesrani, Manzoor Malah, Hameed Engineer and others also spoke.

Holding banners and placards, the demonstrators raised slogans in support of their demands. Some of them were: “Forced conversions not acceptable”, “Stop kidnapping Sindh’s daughters under the garb of religion”, “Stop religious discrimination”, “Attack on Sindhi Hindus is an attack on Sindh”, and “Rinkle Kumari, Asha and Dr Lata be returned to their parents”.

Three booked in riot case

Meanwhile, a case was registered at the Cantonment police station under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 337A(i) (shajjah-i-khafifah), 337F(ii) (badi’ah) of the Pakistan Penal Code against Comrade Iqbal, Bukshal Thallu, Allah Bachayo Dahiri on a complaint of ST activist Yasin Qadri.

The ST spokesman, Abid Qadri, said the SPC protesters beat Gul Zaman Qadri black and blue when he objected to the use of slogans against Islam and the shrine of Bharchundi during the SPC protest.

As the ST activists tried to reach the SPC protesters, they entered the press club. Some workers hurled stones at the entrance of the club and subsequently some journalists intervened and convinced the ST leaders to seek legal recourse in the matter instead of agitation.

However, the ST activists after some time converged on the Hyder Bux Jatoi roundabout and burnt tyres.

Speaking to Dawn, the SPC’s Bukshal Thallu said the ST had sabotaged the anti-religious extremism rally. ST activists objected to the rally on the ground that anti-Islam slogans were being raised, he said, but the fact of the matter was that no sane person could think of abusing Islam as they all believed in tolerance.

“Our rally was attacked by ST activists, who had called their workers to the press club, forcing SPC members to take shelter in the press club,” he said.

He added that they were later shifted under police protection from the club. But, he added, 20 of them were detained at the GOR police station.

When contacted, DSP Khawar Sheikh said that had police not shifted them to the GOR police station, there were chances that the situation would have turned more violent.

“Some journalists are trying to approach the ST to resolve it and we have not officially arrested SPC activists so far,” he said.

Attack, arrests condemned

Condemning the attack on the rally in Hyderabad, activists and supporters of the SPC outside the press club of Naushahro Feroze said that peaceful rallies were organised across the province against kidnapping and forced conversions of Hindu girls.

The protesters led by JSM general secretary Mohammad Hashim Khoso and LPP general secretary Comrade Younus Rahu demanded protection to the community and stern action against the elements involved in the attack and kidnappings.

They said the marchers in Hyderabad had to take shelter in the press club to save their lives. Yet the police who apparently reached there to rescue the SPC activists detained them at a police station, they deplored.

They demanded the immediate release of their arrested workers and withdrawal of cases against them.