HYDERABAD: Members of the shocked Hindu community in Pakistan held a protest demonstration outside Hyderabad press club in connection with the killing of 11 pilgrims from Pakistan in Jodhpur, India, on Sunday (Aug 14).
According to Kashmir Media Service, the protesting Hindus rejected the unbelievable claim by the Indian authorities that the pilgrims committed mass suicide.
The protesters, led by Amarshi Thakur of the Pakistan Minorities Alliance, said that the immigrants were murdered, and appealed to the United Nations, European Union and International Court of Justice (ICJ) to intervene and ensure justice to the bereaved family. The protesters raised slogans against Indian government and the killers.
Mr Thakur said that the victims were members of a single family and originally residents of Sanghar district. They had gone to Jodhpur for pilgrimage a few months back, he added. He said that their relatives in Sindh received information that they had committed joint suicide as claimed by the Jodhpur police. He said their relatives and the Hindu community in Sanghar disbelieved the claim.
Mr Thakur said that no medical examination reports of the deceased were shared with the bereaved family. He called for issuance of the medical examination reports and handing over of the bodies to their heirs.
The protesters said that it was disturbing to note the silence of human rights organisations in India over the deaths. All these organisations, he said, must exert pressure on Indian government for the handover of the bodies to the heirs.
According to a leading Indian newspaper, the 11 persons, who included five children, were found dead on Sunday morning inside the hut they lived in at Lodta village of Dechu area in Jodhpur.
It is believed that on refusal to work as agents for Indian spy agencies against Pakistan, these Hindu pilgrims were gunned down by the men in uniform.
