KARACHI: The Parliamentary Committee on Minorities appointed by the President to look into the grievances of the Hindu community on Tuesday called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House.

Those who called on the President included Senator Maula Bux Chandio, MNA Lal Chand and Senator Hari Ram Kishori Lal. Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah was also present on the occasion of the report presentation.

Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar said that it may be recalled the President had appointed a four-member Committee comprising of Senator Maula Bux Chandio, MNA Lal Chand, Senator Hari Ram Kishori Lal and Dr. Khatumal Jeewan on August 10 to visit various districts of Sindh and meet people from the Hindu community and report on their grievances.

The Committee informed the President about its visits and the meetings held with members of the Hindu community thus far.

Senator Maula Bux Chandio informed the President that some Hindus complained about abduction of their girls and their forced conversion to Islam which had caused resentment and sense of insecurity among them.

The Committee proposed that a case of abduction should be registered against the culprits in the future and it should be treated as abduction until the girl makes a confessional statement before a court of competent jurisdiction and the court decides otherwise.

The Committee also briefed the President about some of the recent incidents involving members of the Hindu community. According to its findings the Immigration Authorities at Lahore stopped 222 Hindus who were Pakistani citizens from entering India on August 10, 2012, even though they had valid visit visas for India. However, later on, after necessary enquiry by the FIA and the fact that they all possessed valid visas, the Hindu pilgrims were allowed to visit India for 'Teerath Yatra'.

It said that since the Hindus were regularly visiting India for religious purposes, they protested against the concerned authorities for the unusual act of stopping them. The report said that the incident of Manisha Kumari's conversion to Islam led to protests by members of the Hindu community and the subsequent registration of cases against 28 Hindus for violation of 144 Cr. PC by the local police in Jacobabad also added to their grievances. The Committee informed the President that the two incidents were mixed up and led to misleading reports about Hindus.

The President appreciated the Committee for visiting different areas and preparing a preliminary report on the issues facing the Hindus. He reiterated the commitment of the government to provide protection to the minorities and to safeguarding their constitutional rights. He said that no one would be allowed to impose its agenda upon the minorities as it goes against the teachings of Islam and the fundamental principles of our constitution. The minorities will not be allowed to be discriminated against and they would be provided full protection of law, he continued.

The President said that the minorities have every right to practice their faith freely and it was the responsibility of the government to create an enabling environment for them to contribute their share in the nation-building process.

On this occasion, the President also recounted various measures taken for the minorities in the country and said that the PPP government is committed to protecting the rights of the minorities as equal citizens of the state.

He advised the Committee to continue working and looking into the grievances of the minorities and reports of violation of their rights.

The President also said that in case of any untoward incident impacting the members of minority communities, PPP MNAs and MPAs should visit the area and seek to redress their grievances.

The President said that the government was conscious of the concern of the minority communities about misuse of certain laws against them. He expressed the hope that the religious leaders, parliamentarians and members of civil society would deliberate on the issue and recommend measures to prevent misuse of laws against the minorities.