KARACHI, Aug 10: A Pakistan People’s Party leader from Jacobabad, Mir Aijaz Jakhrani, has termed the reports of migration of Hindu families from Sindh and Balochistan to India baseless and said that such reports were actually aimed at maligning the PPP government.

Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Friday, Mr Jakhrani, who is also a member of the National Assembly, urged the media to refrain from airing or printing such reports without verification.

Representatives of the Hindu Panchayat Mukhi Humesh Kumar Lakhani, Dr B.H. Khurana, Sindh Minorities Minister Dr Mohan Lal, Excise Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla and others were also present.

“There could be individual cases of people moving to India — and such cases of people not returning home after entering another country on visa happen all over the world — but the report of Hindu families migrating en bloc from Sindh is far from true,” he added.

The PPP leader said that every year members of the Hindu community went to India for ‘Teerath Yatra’ and this year too 247 persons had gone. The pilgrims included 20 people from Jacobabad. The others belonged to other districts of Sindh and Balochistan.

He said that the Hindu people were stopped from going to India at the Wagah border but they were allowed to go after the verification of their documents.

He said that between four million and 4.5 million Hindus were living in Sindh. He added that they considered Sindh their motherland.

They had no problem in discharging their religious obligation as they enjoyed complete freedom here, he said.

He said Jacobabad was included in those districts in the country where there was no serious law and order problem. “People are being kidnapped for ransom not only in Sindh but in other provinces as well.”

Mr Chawla said that pilgrims got visa for ‘Teerath Yatra’ and another group of 100 Yatris from Kashmore would be crossing the border in a day or two.

He said a meeting of Hindu representatives  with the chief minister was scheduled for Saturday in Larkana.

Responding to questions, Mukhi Mahesh Kumar Lakhani said that the Hindu community did have complaints and grievances, as during the past 10 years some very outstanding doctors like Poran Mal were killed and incidents of kidnapping of Hindu girls had also taken place but the PPP failed to come to their rescue. Even ministers Mohan Lal and Mukesh Chawla never turned up before during the past four years to enquire about their grievances, he added.

This attitude had created a sense of insecurity among his community, he said, adding that they considered Sindh their motherland and would never like to leave it for India where a few families who had gone earlier on a Yatra visa were not treated even-handedly.

He thanked President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah for taking notice of their grievances and sending government representatives to Jacobabad.

Mukhi Lakhani was of the view that instead of meeting prominent members of the community it would be more appropriate if the government representatives visited those affected families whose members had been kidnapped, killed or were facing the threat of forced conversion.

Dr Khurana said the total population of Jacobabad was 300,000 and Hindus were only 20 per cent but they controlled 70 per cent business of the district.

He said people did migrate individually even from Karachi but not in groups, which went only for Yatra.