ISLAMABAD: After a prolonged disinterest, the National Assembly on Wednesday came out strongly for the Hindus of the historic Umerkot district of Sindh, empowering the house speaker to name a special committee to investigate alleged excesses such as murders, kidnappings for ransom and attacks on their temples.

And while all major parties on both sides of the aisle agreed all was not well in Umerkot for years, Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif recalled what he called an ‘ahsan’, or favour, “done to us” by Hindu Rajputs of the area by giving refuge to the 16th century Mughal emperor Humayun after his defeat at the hands of Sher Shah Suri.

Hindu lawmakers from different parties and PPP member from Umerkot, Nawab Yusuf Talpur, have frequently spoke of harassment of Hindus of the district both in the previous and the present National Assembly, to hear only ministerial assurances of remedies but find little action while there were reports of Hindu migrations from the area to neighbouring India.

Last Sunday’s murder in Umerkot of two Hindu brothers and relatives of a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf member of the house, Lal Chand, allegedly by robbers, provided the latest spark in the National Assembly, first on the opening day of the house session on Monday and then on Tuesday, when PTI parliamentary leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi came out with a sentimental speech about the incident, accusing a local PPP MPA and police of obstructing justice.

Those allegations were met with protests from PPP benches before the situation calmed down after both Mr Talpur and Leader of the Opposition Khursheed Ahmed Shah suggested forming a house fact-finding committee, which was endorsed by all sides.

However, Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi, who was chairing the proceedings at the time, said the committee would be formed after parliamentary parties chose their nominees for the body and agreed on its terms of reference.

Khawaja Asif, speaking earlier, said that though it was a provincial subject, collective efforts were needed to remedy the problems of both religious and ethnic minorities, describing what he called “mass migrations” of Hindus to India a serious matter.

The minister noted the hospitality shown by Umerkot Hindus to a fleeing Humayun after a Sodha Rajput ruler at the time of what was then called Amarkot hosted his stay there “when none else in whole India would give him refuge”, and said: “They did an ‘ahsan’ to us.”

During that refuge, Umerkot also became the birthplace of Humayun’s son and the future emperor Akbar.

Amidst concern for other religious minorities, which dominated the day’s proceedings, nobody talked of persecution complaints by the Ahmedi community, at least three of whose members – a woman and two children – were killed on July 27 by a mob in the Gujranwala city of Punjab that also burned Ahmedi homes during a protest against alleged blasphemy by a community member.

BEACH TRAGEDY: What was expected to be a heated debate on the drowning of 42 picnickers in sea off Karachi beaches during Eid holidays late last month drew only a lonely thunder against authorities from a PTI lawmaker from the city, Arif Alvi, while members of the Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement were absent from the house for unknown reasons.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2014