In the latest incident of atrocities on minorities in Pakistan, a Hindu businessman was shot dead in Sindh province by influential elements allegedly belonging to the Dahar community. On Monday, local media reported that businessman Satan Lal was shot dead over a piece of land in Ghotki district. “There was an inauguration of a cotton factory and flour mill on the land of Satan Lal where some people shot and killed him,” The Express Tribune quoted Lal’s friend Mukhi Anil Kumar, who was present at the scene, as saying over the phone.
In a video that went viral a few months ago, Lal said: “They are threatening to kill me, smash my eyes and cut my hands and feet. They are asking me to leave Pakistan. I belong to this country and will prefer to die here but will not surrender.” “The roadside land belongs to me and why should I give it up,” he was further quoted as saying. Lal had requested the chief justice of Pakistan and other authorities to provide him justice, naming those who were threatening to kill him.
Lal’s killing is the latest in a series of attacks on minorities in Pakistan, which has often faced backlash for violence against its people.
Here’s a listicle on the latest attacks on minorities in the country:
• A five-member Hindu family in Pakistan was found dead with their throats slit under mysterious circumstances in March 2021.
• In November 2021, an 11-year-old Hindu boy was sexually assaulted and brutally murdered in Pakistan’s Sindh province. The Station House Officer (SHO) of Babarloi police station said the boy was strangled to death before the culprits sexually assaulted him.
• Unknown gunmen shot dead a Christian priest and wounded another while they were leaving a church in Peshawar following Sunday Mass in January 2022.
• A Hindu trader, Ramesh Lal Nand Lal, was murdered by unknown persons in Lasbila town in Baluchistan province.
• Hindu businessman Sunil Kumar shot dead by unidentified individuals in Anaj Mandi, Sindh province.
• Hindu journalist Ajay Lalwani was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s Sindh in March 2021. Sahil Jogi, Lalwani’s colleague, said Lalwani was the fourth journalist to have been killed by militants in the past year.
• Apart from the killings, there have been reports of several Hindu girls abducted and converted.
According to the 2017 census, Hindus constitute the largest religious minority in Pakistan followed by Christians who make up the second-largest religious minority. The Ahmadis, Sikhs, and Parsis are also among the notable religious minorities in Pakistan.
The current ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, under the leadership of Imran Khan, vowed in their 2018 election manifesto that “PTI will protect the civil, social and religious rights of minorities; their places of worship, property, and institutions as laid down in the Constitution.”
Among the list of promises for a “Naya Pakistan,” there were two important vows that still require the government’s attention: ensuring equal justice and protecting minorities from violence, hate speech, and discrimination, according to The Diplomat.
However, so far, governments have only paid lip service to the cause.
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