Hindus living in Pakistan oppressed: VHP

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Thursday said that the Hindus living in Pakistan have been and are still being oppressed and persecuted. He said that the Hindus living in Pakistan or any other part of the world are welcomed in India.

New Delhi: The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Thursday raised the issue of civil rights violations saying the Hindus living in Pakistan have been and are still being persecuted.

Referring to the persistent civil rights violations of Hindus in Pakistan during the press conference in New Delhi, VHP's secretary general Milind Parande said the unexpected decline in the Hindu population in Pakistan is a worrisome situation.

He, however, said that the Hindus living in Pakistan or any other part of the world are welcomed in India.

Parande called for the attention of United Nations human rights body (UNHRC) and on the alleged kidnapping of Hindu girls in Pakistan and forcible conversion into Islam, and said they should be handed back to their families.

"Significantly, such incidents have emerged recently from Pakistan where cases of forcible marriage to the Muslim community men have been reported," he said.

According to many national and international human rights organisations such as the Global Human Rights Defense (GHRD) and Movement for Solidarity and Peace, more than 1000 Hindu girls and women are kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam every year, the VHP alleged.

The VHP alleged that the population of Hindus was 16% when Pakistan came into existence in 1947 which has now been reduced to only 1.6%.

"What happened to the 90% Hindus?," Parande asked.

The right-wing organisation blamed the Pakistan government and its constitutional structure for the atrocities on Hindus.