MITHI: Pakistan Hindu Council chief patron and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani from Thar has again asked Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari not to bring any amendments to the bill recently passed by Sindh Assembly against forced religious conversions.
In a press statement on Monday, he requested Mr Zardari to convene an all-parties conference (APC) of political and religious parliamentary parties of Sindh to review the bill. He asked the Sindh government to clarify its position on the claims of some leaders of religious parties, including Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq, regarding withdrawal of the bill.
He claimed that the JI chief a day earlier had thanked the Sindh chief minister after the latter had promised him to bring some changes in the bill. Dr Vankwani asked the PPP leadership to live up to the expectations of Hindus, who highly lauded the move of Sindh Assembly.
He stated that some media reports about withdrawal of the bill by the Sindh governor were shocking for all non-Muslims living in the country and Sindh in particular.
He opined that the unanimously passed bill could not be called “controversial” and the motive behind the move was to prevent the incidents of kidnapping and forced conversions of teenage Hindu girls while ensuring respect to all religions.
The Hindu representative said that such media reports had created uncertainty and restlessness among the Hindus of Sindh. He said that on one hand the PPP claimed to be secular and liberal while on the other it came under pressure of some ‘extremist parties and groups’.
Published in Dawn January 10th, 2017
