Pakistan: Hindu senator condemns attacks, threats on his community

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 28 (ANI): Senator Kesoo Mal Kheeal Das has condemned the attacks and threats of attacks on people from the Hindu community and their places of worship in Pakistan.
"We Hindus can give our lives for our land Pakistan, this country is ours, this Pakistan is ours, we will tell the world that there is freedom of speech in the houses of Pakistan, the job of the state is to provide security to our children," Das said in a tweet on Thursday
His reaction came days after a Hindu temple in the Ghouspur area of Sindh’s Kashmore was vandalised. The dacoits had targeted the community's properties and lives, causing fear and hindering their ability to practice religious rituals freely.
While speaking at the National Assembly on Wednesday also, the senator has urged the government to protect the Hindu community and asked to take decisive action against such elements. 
He stated that it is not only the Hindus who are being targeted by the dacoits but the situation for Muslims living in places like Kashmore, Sakkar, Kandhkot, and Rajanpur is equally bad.
He further added that Hindus would not be terrorized by such threats and Hindu people and other communities can die for their country and will not leave Pakistan. 
Several lawmakers expressed their concern about the alarming situation in the Kachcha areas of Sindh, where dacoits were posing a serious threat to the Hindu community.
Talking about the cases, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf assured the Hindu community of full support, emphasising that they should not live in fear, as it was the state's responsibility to ensure their safety and protect their rights, according to The Express Tribune. 
Meanwhile, Member of National Assembly (MNA) Akbar Ali Chitrali of the Jamaat-e-Islami reiterated that all citizens of Pakistan were equal under the Constitution, stressing that any threat posed to bona fide citizens, such as the Hindu community, was a threat to the Constitution itself.
He assured the Hindu community that Muslims stood in solidarity with them and would provide unwavering support, reported The Express Tribune. 
Attacks on the Hindu minority are not an uncommon practice in Pakistan’s Sindh. In the last few months, several incidents targeting the Hindu minority in the Sindh village of Shaikh Bhirkio and the Tando Allahyar district have surfaced, Bitter Winter reported.
In a more recent incident, a 150-year-old Hindu temple was demolished in Karachi. The Hindu community in Karachi woke up only to find Mari Mata Temple demolished in Karachi's Soldier Bazaar, reported Dawn. (ANI)