Oppression of minorities in Pakistan

arun · Post by **arun** » 06 Sep 2011 06:43

arun · Post by **arun** » 08 Sep 2011 07:12

As the Islamic Republic of Pakistan celebrates another “ Defence Day “, a timely reminder of the discrimination that Hindu, Sikh and Christian dhimmi’s who served in the armed forces of the Islamic Republic have had to put up with:

Islamabad discriminates against non-Muslim war heroes

BijuShet · Post by **BijuShet** » 08 Sep 2011 23:34

Ahmadi shot, injured on ‘Khatam-e-Nabuwat Day’

By Rana Tanveer - Published: September 8, 2011
Relatives allege he was targeted for his religious beliefs. NEFER SEHGAL/FILE

LAHORE: A man, who was later identified to be an Ahmadi, was critically injured after being shot three times in Ferozewala of Sheikhupura district on Wednesday just as religious parties observed the ‘Tahafuz Khatam-e-Nabuwat Day’.

Relatives of the victim, Chaudhry Basheer Ahmed, alleged that he was targeted because of his religious beliefs as a result of the intensification of a hate campaign against Ahmadis in the area.

Tahafuz Khatam-e-Nabuwat Day marks the anniversary of the day in 1974, when Pakistan’s parliament declared Ahmadis to be a non-Muslim minority.

Basheer Ahmed was shot once in his abdomen and twice in his neck with a 30-bore pistol at close range.

Naseer Ahmed, one of Basheer’s relatives who witnessed the attack, said that they were “sure the attacker was one of the local activists of Khatam-e-Nabuwat”, adding that the murder attempt was made near the local chapter of the Khatam-e-Nabuwat office. He said that the assailant was a bearded man between 18 to 20 years of age.

Two armed men had attacked and killed a 70-year-old man in his shop in the presence of his sons in the same area. According to the prosecution, he was killed for his beliefs.

Naseer Ahmed said Ahmadis in Ferozewala and elsewhere are under constant threat because of an ongoing hate campaign.

SHO Ferozewala police station Faisal Abbas Chadhar said that relatives of the victim had “neither given an application, nor did they want to take legal action”.{Cops will not do anything until the harassed and scared victim's family complains even though a murder was committed in broad day-light.}

He said that the attackers and their motive were still unknown.

He said that further legal action would be taken once an application for an FIR was filed.

Spokesperson of the Jamat-e-Ahmadia, Pakistan, Saleemudin criticised the government for supporting such events, and said that
the government should, instead, take steps to stop such hostile campaigns.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2011.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 09 Sep 2011 20:15

X-post...

Avinash R wrote:.....

Ten of thousands of Pakistani Christians are fleeing to India from their Islamic heritage.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... term-visas

....

arun · Post by **arun** » 15 Sep 2011 07:08

Sadanand Dhume in the Wall Street Journal on the “Green on Green” violence in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as Mohammaddens of the majority Sunni sect take on their co-religionists of the minority Shia / Shiite sect.

For a country claimed to have been created as a safe haven for the Mohammaddens of the Indian Sub-Continent, the level of Mohammadden on Mohammadden violence inspired by difference s in the interpretation of Mohammaddenism, is disgracefully high:

Pakistan's Low-Grade Civil War : Anti-Shiite violence by Sunni extremists has been spreading.

arun · Post by **arun** » 16 Sep 2011 08:20

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan named one of 10 countries “failing to sufficiently protect religious rights”. Joins a group that includes Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Vietnam.

GOTUS however ensured that its Major Non NATO Ally was kept out of the list of “Countries of Particular Concern” much to the chagrin of USCIRF which had pressed for the inclusion of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:

Religious freedom report: Pakistan one of 10 countries ‘failing to protect minorities’ rights’

arun · Post by **arun** » 19 Sep 2011 07:32

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on what it is to be a Kaafir Dhimmi in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:

Minorities, Hindus in particular, at risk in Balochistan: HRCP

BijuShet · Post by **BijuShet** » 19 Sep 2011 20:00

From Tribune news (posting in full).
Hindus still tied in knots over marriage registration

By Zahid Gishkori - Published: September 19, 2011
Hindus say denial of legal matrimonial recognition leads to the denial of other basic rights.
ISLAMABAD: The largest minority in Pakistan is struggling to register marriages due to chronic delays in the passage of the Hindu Marriage Act. The draft bill, proposed in 2008 but yet to be tabled before parliament, seeks to address the decades-old problem faced by the Hindu community in Pakistan, which numbers approximately four million.

In Pakistan there is no system for the registration of marriages of certain minorities, including Hindus, Sikhs and Baha’is. There is, however, marriage registration for Christians.

(Read: Legislation underway – Minorities to have their own marriage laws)

“These are not the best of times for us as we face stiff resistance from the government on the issue,” said MNA Dr Araish Kumar. The government and some Hindus do not see eye-to-eye over the controversial divorce clause. “How can we allow the inclusion of a divorce clause as there is no concept of divorce in our religion?” Kumar said. “Hindus will get Computerized National Identity Cards (CNIC) if the bill gets passed,” he said, adding that Pakistani Hindus often face difficulties when travelling abroad due to a lack of a marriage certificate.

Clause 13, the controversial passage of the proposed 16-page bill, states that any Hindu can divorce his wife or her husband at any time and in any court.

Various conditions have been proposed for divorce proceedings. The new draft empowers any court to entertain any petition for the legal dissolution of a marriage. Various other rules have also been mentioned in the bill, such as when divorcees may marry again, the legal rights of children, void and voidable marriages, the punishment of bigamy and punishments for other contraventions of Hindu marriage laws.

The draft also described practical ramifications of divorce cases, such as the content and verification of petitions, custody of children, ownership of property and savings, and repeals.

Minister pushes for bill

“Our first priority is to get the Hindu Marriage Act passed at all cost,” said Minister for National Harmony Akram Masih Gill in an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune.

He admitted that the divorce clause remains a bone of contention between the government and Hindu community. However, the minister is optimistic a consensus can be reached on the issue after taking all stakeholders into confidence. “I will go to every extent for rights of minorities,” he said. “Marriage Registration Acts will be prepared for all minorities.”

(Read: Love hurts – Hindu couple marries outside press club as a sign of protest)

He added that the government had sought the opinion of Hindu community leaders from Hindu Panchayat (Karachi Division), Nagarparkar in Tharparkar and Rahim Yar Khan, who drafted the bill for marriage registration based on the Indian model.

Sikh concerns

Sikh community leaders have dispelled the impression that this bill can also be applied to marriage registrations of Sikhs based on the Indian model. “We will introduce separate bills for marriage registration of Hindus, Sikhs and Bahai’s,” said Gill, who has decided to summon a meeting of all lawmakers and representatives who represent minorities to pave the way to table the bill in parliament.

“How can this proposed act be applicable for us as our customs are totally different for performing marriages,” said Swaran Singh, a senior member of Pakistan Sikhs Gurdwara Parbandak Committee.

Pointing out differences, he said: “Hindus take seven lavans (name of hymns) while we take five lavans for performing marriages. Hindus also take fire or pitcher [matka] while Sikhs recite from Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh Holy Book). The male leads in the Sikh religion but a woman in the Hindu religion.”

(edited by imran yusuf)

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2011.

BijuShet · Post by **BijuShet** » 19 Sep 2011 20:17

post deleted. Posted in wrong thread.

arun · Post by **arun** » 20 Sep 2011 22:24

In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, self claimed haven for the Mohammaddens of the Indian Sub-Continent neither the “Islamic Republic” nor the “Safe haven for Mohammaddens” tag is sufficient for Mohammaddens belonging to the minority Shia / Shiite to escape the depredations of their co-religionists.

Shiite pilgrims travelling to Iran ordered off bus and shot dead in Mastung, Balochistan:

Pakistani gunmen 'kill 26 Shiite pilgrims'

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 21 Sep 2011 17:08

Hindu marriage act - editorial
http://tribune.com.pk/story/256428/the- ... riage-act/

arun · Post by **arun** » 22 Sep 2011 06:30

arun wrote:In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, self claimed haven for the Mohammaddens of the Indian Sub-Continent neither the “Islamic Republic” nor the “Safe haven for Mohammaddens” tag is sufficient for Mohammaddens belonging to the minority Shia / Shiite to escape the depredations of their co-religionists.

Shiite pilgrims travelling to Iran ordered off bus and shot dead in Mastung, Balochistan:

Pakistani gunmen 'kill 26 Shiite pilgrims'

Sunni Mohammadden organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi takes “credit” for the killing of Shia Mohammaddens in the Mastung attack:

Militant Pakistan group admits carrying out bus attack

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 23 Sep 2011 19:03

Sikh leader under threat in Lahore

LAHORE: A prominent leader of Pakistani Sikhs is under threat from unidentified people who have been attacking his business in Lahore for almost six months now, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Sardar Bishon Singh, who has served as the president of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, has always been vocal against the government’s ‘injustices’ with his community. He has been selling imported cloth in shops across Punjab’s provincial capital since he moved from the tribal areas in 1993.

“I have been threatened with dire consequences if I do not stay silent over issues,” Singh said. “They have threatened me with death and financial loss.”

Other than the threats, he said, cloth worth Rs7 million was looted from his shop in Azam Cloth Market. Another one of his shops, located in Zeenat Tower on the Model Town Link Road, was shut down by the building’s owners.

On September 19, Singh went to his shop only to find that owners had cut power supply and constructed another shop, blocking the way to his shop. “According to the tower’s map, there is no space on which the new shop can be constructed, so I have approached the court where I obtained a stay order. But when I tried to stop the construction, owners threw me outside the tower and closed my shop.”

Police refused to cooperate with him in the case. “Instead of hearing my complaint, police began inquiring if I belonged to India or Pakistan,” Singh said. “I tried to approach Malik Owais, Superintendent Police (SP) Model Town, but he said he had no time to entertain Sikhs as he had to deal with more pressing issues.”

“I then approached Zahid Aslam Gondal, the deputy secretary for law and order at the [Punjab] Chief Minister Secretariat, but I was not treated well. [Punjab] Governor Latif Khosa has now asked me to come see him,” he said.

When approached, SP Owais admitted that he had ignored Singh’s complaint because he had other commitments but said he has referred the application to relevant officials.

Owner of the building, Rashid Ahmad, also seemed to feel no remorse over shutting down Singh’s shop and admitted that he had cut electricity supply but claimed that it was because Singh owed him Rs0.5 million on account of maintenance charges for five years.

But for Singh, this could just be the end of the rope for his patience. “If the government of Pakistan cannot protect my life and even my business in one of its safest cities, then I should be allowed to migrate from this country, which is [only] for Muslims,” Singh said.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 23 Sep 2011 19:11

Sardar Bishon singh should sell all his assets in Lahore and move to Amritsar.

arun · Post by **arun** » 23 Sep 2011 21:51

More Green on Green mayhem in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, self-claimed safe haven for the Mohammaddens of the Indian Sub-Continent.

Passengers forced off van with the Mohammaddens of the minority Shia sect segregated and shot dead by their co-religionists of the majority Sunni sect in Quetta, Balochistan:

Sectarian attack: 3 killed, 3 injured in Quetta

arun · Post by **arun** » 25 Sep 2011 12:31

Christian girl studying in the eighth-grade accused of blasphemy, a crime that carries the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, for a spelling mistake:

Girl accused of blasphemy for a spelling error

arun · Post by **arun** » 25 Sep 2011 13:21

X Posted from the Islamic Sectarianism thread.

In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan a 12 year old boy is arrested while trying to plant explosives in a place of worship used by Mohammaddens of the minority Shia sect.

For a country claimed to have been created as a safe haven for the Mohammaddens of the Indian Sub-Continent, the seeds of hatred for Mohammaddenism’s minority sects is certainly planted at a very young age:

Sectarian violence: 12-year-old arrested while planting explosives

BijuShet · Post by **BijuShet** » 27 Sep 2011 20:14

Xpost from TSP Dhaga. Need to show the rest of humanity the true face of TSP.

From Tribune news story(posting in full). Posting here for maximum visibility. Some WKK lurkers may still be able to redeem themselves rather than side with the demons across the border.
A ‘mangal sutra’, some miniature Hindu sculptures and two corpses

By Sarfaraz Memon - Published: September 27, 2011
According to the post-mortem report, both the women were shot from an approximate distance of one foot. PHOTO: FILE

SUKKUR: One of the best ways to throw the police off the trail of a cold-blooded murder is to pass the victims off as Hindus{Everyone in TSP knows that the police will not follow up on a crime if the victim happens to be Hindu.}. And indeed this is what the killers of a woman and her daughter did in a graveyard in Dhamra town near Larkana on the night of September 20 and 21.

One of the victims had a ‘mangal sutra’ around her neck, the type that Hindu women wear after they are married. In the purses next to the bodies the police discovered a number of Hindu miniature sculptures. The Larkana police sent the bodies for an autopsy to Chandka Medical College Hospital. According to the post-mortem report, both the women were shot from an approximate distance of one foot.

Initially, nobody was willing to identify or claim the bodies which is why the authorities decided to call Edhi to hand them over for burial {Even though the clue suggested that the victims were hindus, the police chose to bury instead of cremate the unindentified dead victims. Even in death there is no dignity for Hindus in TSP.}. However, before the bodies could be transferred, Sikandar Junejo – who is the son of Pakistan Peoples Party Larkana taluka president Mazhar Junejo – went to the hospital and identified the victims as his aunt and cousin, sources said.

According to him, the elderly woman was his 60-year-old aunt Kulsoom – the second wife of former assistant commissioner Mohammad Saleh Qazi – and her 22-year-old daughter Saba Naz.

They were buried in their ancestral graveyard where their bodies were found – the graveyard they were visiting to pay respects to their father’s grave. Mazhar lodged an FIR against four unidentified people.

Sources claimed that the mother and daughter had been staying in a hotel in Larkana since September 7. They left the hotel without informing the management on September 18. The women left unnoticed and without paying their hotel bill. Surprisingly, they left all their personal belongings behind – which police claim includes their clothes and property documentation for a huge tract of agricultural land worth millions of rupees near Dhamra town.

According to well-informed sources, Kulsoom was allegedly involved in a dispute with her brother Mazhar over the family property which could have been the reason behind the murders.

The hotel manager said when the women failed to show up for two days, he contacted them on their cell phone on the evening of September 20. Kulsoom picked up and assured him that they were arranging for the money and would clear the dues as soon as they could. But the manager never heard back from them. Dhamra Police SHO Manthar Umrani told The Express Tribune that: “It seems that somebody else was with the women on the night of the murder because women could not dare to go to the graveyard on their own and especially late at night.”

According to him, police have found two cell phones and a few packets of juice from the crime scene. SHO Umrani revealed that both the women were shot from a 9mm pistol. When asked where they could have been while they were away from the hotel from September 18 to 20, the officer said it was confusing but that they could have been with relatives.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2011.

arun · Post by **arun** » 27 Sep 2011 22:24

arun wrote:Christian girl studying in the eighth-grade accused of blasphemy, a crime that carries the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, for a spelling mistake:

Girl accused of blasphemy for a spelling error

Anthony Permal uses the case of the Christian child Faryal Bhatti who stands accused of blasphemy to highlight the fact that the quest in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to ram Mohammaddenism down the throats of Religious Minorities is so strong that even the language curriculum is suffused with Mohammadden Scripture and Propaganda.

Anthony Permal rightly asks “Why on earth was a poor girl of a non-Muslim religion being forced to learn – as I and countless others were – the prayers of another religion to pass an exam on language skills?”

He also rightly asks “Why is it necessary for her to profess the faith of another” :

Blasphemy for 8th graders

……………………. I want to dwell on an aspect of the story which has given many of us cause for pause:

If there is no compulsion in Islam, why was this non-Muslims girl writing a naat for the Urdu language subject in an examination?

The incident is not one in isolation, but which has been conveniently swept under the rug for decades: the indoctrination of Islamic thought and doctrine into every aspect of culture, irrespective of the damage it causes to the culture itself.

When I was studying in St Lawrence’s Boys’ School in Karachi from 85-95, I vividly remember having to learn the hamd and the naat by rote, from Grade 3 to Grade 8. I am not talking about the Islamiyat classes. The hamd and naat were on page 1 and in the centre of the book respectively. The Urdu textbooks in our syllabus were issued by the Sindh Textbook Board and were mandatory for Urdu studies if you wanted to sit the Matriculation examinations when you hit grade 9 and 10.

This, by the way, was only one part of the problem.

Instead of a syllabus flowing with beautiful Urdu literature by Manto, Faiz, Haider, Iqbal and others, we had these sparsely populating our primary grade textbooks while the bulk would be made up of stories of the great Islamic conversions by the wonderful Muslim heroes of Arabia, who came and saved the former-infidels of the region. Day after day, we were forced to learn a history that had nothing to do with Urdu, but with Islam’s superiority.

In a Christian school, with Christian students.

We had no choice, as we were matriculation-based. When I reached grade 9, however, the introduction of a higher level of prose and the subsequent tashreeh classes we had to undertake opened my mind to a whole new realm of this beautiful and pure language. Suddenly, I saw religion completely disappear.

Needless to say, it became quite obvious to me at that point that under the pretext of an education in literature and linguistics, the children of Pakistan were being indoctrinated with the ideals that everything around them, their culture, language and history, was completely Islamic or from the Muslims. Zia, it seemed, had won.

Which brings me to the 8th grade student accused of blasphemy. Why on earth was a poor girl of a non-Muslim religion being forced to learn – as I and countless others were – the prayers of another religion to pass an exam on language skills?

Why is it necessary for her to profess the faith of another, simply to earn a piece of paper that says to the world ‘I am literate’? .......................

Express Tribune

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 27 Sep 2011 23:11

From Dalit girl forced to convert to Islam in Pak: report

She was very scared and under the influence of maulvis. She told us they will not let her go, so she will stay with them as a Muslim," said Bhanwroo.

The family contacted police in Chakiwara to lodge an FIR on the kidnapping but they refused to do so, he said.

Lyari's Superintendent of Police Khadim Hussain Rind told the newspaper that lodging an FIR would not make any difference as it will be cancelled during court proceedings.

From 'Hindu girl forced to convert to Islam'

The local administration is "refusing to respond to the abduction" of the girl, who is not being allowed to leave the madrassa or to speak to her parents, he said.
...
With his help, the parents met the priest in charge of Darul-Uloom Madrassa in Khanpur, Maulana Abdul Hafeez.

Hafeez reportedly told the parents that Gajri had "embraced Islam and was not allowed to meet her parents". (????)

In January this year, the parents of Gajri again tried to file a case of abduction against their neighbour and the madrassa but their application was refused by district police chief Imtiaz Gul.

He allegedly told them that he had no power to intervene in matters of religious conversion and that their daughter was now the "property of the madrassa", Burney said.

arun · Post by **arun** » 04 Oct 2011 08:28

X Posted from the TSP thread.

shravan wrote:Gun attack at bus kills 12 in Akhtarabad, Quetta

AKHTARABAD: At least 12 people have been reportedly butchered while four others sustained injuries amid a brazen attack on a passenger bus by unidentified gunmen in Akhtrabad locality of Quetta, SAMAA reported Tuesday morning.

A link to go with the story.

Further this appears to be an act of intra-Mohammadden violence with members of the minority Shia / Shiite sect being the target.

For a self-claimed Islamic Republic, IEDological Muslim State and Safe Haven for the Mohammaddens of the Indian Sub-Continent, Pakistan has a grotesquely high level of intra-Mohammadden violence fuelled by differing interpretations of Mohammaddenism:

Gunmen kill 12 Shiite Muslims in Pakistan

Narad · Post by **Narad** » 04 Oct 2011 12:35

Ahmadi schoolteacher shot dead in Lahore

LAHORE: As his students watched, a recent convert to the Ahmadi faith, Dilawar Hussain, 42, was shot dead at a government primary school in a village in Sheikhupura on Saturday.

Hussain, along with his wife, Ishrat Bibi, and four children, had recently converted to the Ahmadi faith. His family was the only one in the village belonging to the Ahmadiyya community

other relatives went against him when local clerics declared him “liable to be killed”.

even his brothers, one of whom is a police officer, did not want to register an FIR and become a complainant.

Hussain’s relatives refused to own his body. At the same time, they created obstacles for his widow to take the body away from the village to Rabwah, the headquarters of the Ahmaddiya community.

member_19686 · Post by **member_19686** » 05 Oct 2011 02:47

An article from May 2011 about how the last few remaining Kalash people are being pressured to become Muslims:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13466250

arun · Post by **arun** » 05 Oct 2011 08:18

In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan if Mohammaddenism can inspire the meting out of treatment such as this to co-religionists of the minority Shia sect , then one can only imagine the horrors reserved for Hindu, Sikh and Christian Dhimmi Kaafirs

:

Pakistan's Tiny Hazara Minority Struggles To Survive

arun · Post by **arun** » 08 Oct 2011 20:10

In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mohammadden Clerics belonging to the majority sect of Mohammaddenism successfully pressure a school to expel their co-religionists belonging to the minority Ahmadi / Ahmadiyya sect of Mohammaddenism for no other reason than that they are adherents of the Ahmadi / Ahmadiyya sect.

Pakistani newspaper Express Tribune:

Ahmadis expelled from school

shravan · Post by **shravan** » 15 Oct 2011 21:35

Badin court sets 41 bonded labourers, including 27 children free

BADIN: Police have recovered 41 bonded labours including 27 children from the private jail of an influential feudal on the orders of Badin court.

Ram Kohli submitted an application through a non-governmental organisation to a sessions court in Badin appealing that the court investigate a local feudal....

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 20 Oct 2011 21:50

Conversions to Islam threaten Pakistan’s “Macedonian” tribehttp://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/tag ... n-islamist

But now they are under increasing danger from proselytising Muslim militants just across the border, and a hardline interpretation of Islam creeping through mainstream society — as Pook Shireen discovered. After falling unconscious during a car accident, the mid-20s member of the paramilitary Chitral Scouts woke to find that people with him had converted him to Islam.
“Some of the Muslim people here try to influence the Kalash or encourage them by reading certain verses to them from the Koran,” said his mother, Shingerai Bibi. “The men that were with him read verses of the Koran and then when he woke up they said to him, ‘You are a convert now to Islam’. So he converted.”

Converts to Islam say, though, that these rituals quicken the decision to leave the Kalash.
"The main thing wrong in the Kalash culture are these festivals," said 29-year-old convert Rehmat Zar. "When someone dies the body is kept in that house for three days."
Muslims usually bury people the day they die.Zar added of the Kalash: "They slaughter up to a hundred goats and the family are mourning - but those around them are celebrating, beating drums, drinking wine and dancing. Why are they celebrating this? That's wrong."

member_19686 · Post by **member_19686** » 20 Oct 2011 22:22

x-posting (Kalash have nothing to do with Alexander's invasion):

You might have a better chance deIslamizing Nuristanis than Pakhtuns.

The latter were forcibly converted to Islam in Abdur Rahman's Jihad of 1895-96 after the Durand Line was established and the British looked on.

The Kalash Kafirs are the surviving remnants of this ancient group destroyed by Islam.

They were thoroughly Islamized within 2 generations and were one of the first groups to raise the banner of Jihad against USSR.

This site of Richard Strand gives more info:

As Afghâns encroached on the region, relations between them and the Nuristânis grew more hostile. From the Nuristânis' viewpoint, they were surrounded by hostile peoples, bent on converting them to Islâm through force. Numerous holy-war expeditions against the "Kâfirs" (including the unconverted Indo-Âryan-speaking peoples of the region) were mounted by regional Muslim rulers, including those of Timur-e Lang (Tamerlane) in 1398 A.D. (Frazer-Tytler 1967: 58), Bâbur in the early 1500's, Akbar in the late 1500's, and Jahângir in the early 1600's (Kakar 1971: 186-87). The Nuristânis' response to such intolerant hostility was hundreds of years of incessant murderous raids on the lowland Afghân population, in compliance with their custom of blood revenge.
At the end of the 19th Century A.D. pressure on the Nuristânis mounted as they became pawns in the imperialist "Great Game" between Great Britain, Russia, and the Afghân Âmir ("Commander") Abdur-Rahmân Khân. Many Nuristânis voluntarily submitted to Islâm and agreed to pay tribute to the Âmir in order to prevent war, but he required total submission and spurned their offers of peace (Kakar 1971: 181 ff.). After he and the British agreed on a boundary (the "Durand Line") beyond which neither would advance, he had license to annex the independent polities east of his current empire up to the line, including those of present-day Nuristân. He mounted campaigns up the Laghmân and Kunar Valleys in 1895, and succeeded in overcoming all the "Kâfirs" by the end of 1896 (Kakar 1971: 197-200).4 His troops destroyed and plundered most of the temples and religious idols, and they compelled the men to submit to circumcision as a sign of their submission to Allâh. Thousands of Nuristânis from Laghmân were deported to other provinces of the Âmir's empire and only later allowed to return, but in general the conquered Nuristânis were treated well. Many deportees were inducted into the army, establishing an enduring tradition of integrating Nuristânis into national life through governmental service. Governmental mullahs were sent to educate the new converts in the requirements of their new God, and after two generations the populace was thoroughly Islamized.

Pre-Islâmic Religion: Before their conversion to Islâm the Nuristânis practiced a form of ancient Hinduism, infused with accretions developed locally. They acknowledged a number of human-like deities who lived in the unseen Deity World (Kâmviri d'e lu; cf. Sanskrit deva lok'a-). Certain deities were revered only in one community or tribe, but one was universally revered as the Creator: the ancient Hindu god Yama Râja, called imr'o in Kâmviri. The deities guided peoples' destinies and could be influenced through sacrifice, prayer, and dance. Supplicants communicated with the deities through shamans, who would go into a trance after the area was purified with juniper smoke to invite the deities' presence. Such communication often resulted in the disclosure of a transgression of purity against a diety, who demanded a sacrifice of livestock in appeasement. Some details of the former religion, as practiced by the Vasi, appear here.

http://users.sedona.net/~strand/Nurista ... anis1.html

In August 2002 the Catalan born zoologist and anthropologist Jordi Magraner was killed by Jihadis who slit his throat and let him bleed to death. He was originally a zoologist, but he started pursuing the bizzare by searching for the yeti or the "hairy man" in Northern Pakistan. It was there that he became acquainted with the Kafirs where he lived and worked with them for years. The Pakistani newpapers considered his links with the Kafirs as "shady" connections for which he deserved death.

A friend of mine met a Kalash near Kandahar in 2009 when he was on tour as Infantry Soldier in US Army, the man revealed himself to be Kalash after he found out my buddy was Hindu. He said he was originally from Chitral area and was there for work and that the Muslims won't rest until they wiped out his community, they are just kept alive for tourist $ by Paki gov't.

So may be India has a better chance of winning over the relatively recently Islamized Nuristanis than the long converted Pakhtuns (who were predominantly Shaivas at the time of their forcible conversions not Buddhists, KC Srivastav wrote about pre-Islamic Afghanistan in Hindi).

member_19686 · Post by **member_19686** » 30 Oct 2011 23:58

Minority student allowed to take MBBS entry test
By Tahir Siddiqui

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday provisionally allowed a religious minority student to appear in the forthcoming placement test for MBBS admission to the Dow University of Health Sciences.

Sagar Ladhani, who completed his O and A levels, assailed the condition of studying Islamiat at O level to get an equivalence certificate from the local education board to appear in the forthcoming entrance test for MBBS admissions to medical colleges and institutions.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Mushir Alam put off the hearing of his petition to Nov 15 when the rights of the petitioner would be determined.

The petitioner stated that the subjects of religious studies, prescribed in the O level syllabus, were Islamic Religious Culture and Islamiat for Muslim students and Religious Studies and Bible for Christian students. However, he added, there was no subject in the O level curriculum for the students belonging to other religious minorities, including the Hindus.

He submitted that when he approached the Board of Intermediate Education to obtain an equivalence certificate of A level, he was told that it could be granted to him only if he had passed Religious Studies at O level or Ethics at the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams.

He said he was unable to apply to the DUHS for appearing in the forthcoming entrance test for MBBS admission, as the education board declined to grant him the equivalence certificate as required by the university.

The student was told by the education board that he would not be granted an equivalence certificate unless he passed the SSC examination of Ethics that was scheduled to be held in 2012.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/29/minority ... -test.html

member_19686 · Post by **member_19686** » 31 Oct 2011 00:00

JuD 'teaching' Islam to Hindu flood victims
PTI | Oct 27, 2011, 05.09AM IST

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of people, including Hindus, staying in flood relief camps run by a front organization of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa in Sindh province are being "peppered liberally" with Islamic teachings , according to a report.

About 2,000 living in tents in camps set up by the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation , the relief arm of the JuD, were rescued by the group's volunteers.

They are provided meals twice a day "peppered liberally with religious teachings" , The Express Tribune reported. "They remind us again and again to offer namaz," said a man at a relief camp in Badin. He said families have been given copies of the Quran. "Namaz parho, Quran parho, safai karo! (Say your prayers, read the Quran and clean up)," mimicked a refugee.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... ttarget=no

arun · Post by **arun** » 31 Oct 2011 20:58

X Posted from the TSP thread ............

Anindya wrote:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 537413.cms

ISLAMABAD: A Hindu boy has filed a petition in a Pakistani court challenging a rule that stipulates a student must have a certificate in Islamic studies to be eligible to appear for entrance tests to medical colleges.

A division bench of the Sindh High Court admitted Sagar Ladhani's petition on Friday and provisionally allowed him to appear in an upcoming test for admission to an MBBS course. In his petition, Ladhani challenged the rule that students have to study "Islamiat" at the O-level to get an equivalence certificate from local education boards to appear in entrance tests for medical colleges

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is certainly adept at formulating policy that oppresses non-Mohammaddens and unlike the more civilised parts of the globe where discrimination represents a break down in the law in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, discrimination takes place because of the law.

Anyway going by the track record of the Courts of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in not ruling against this particular privilege for Mohammaddens, I am not very optimistic that Courts of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will do the civilised thing. This particular discriminatory privilege was challenged by a Christian female medical seat aspirant named Qandeel in the Lahore High Court back in 2005 and going by current existence of Sagar Ladhani's petition, nothing came of it:

Monday, November 28, 2005

Christian student files petition against 20 marks for Hafiz-e-Quran students

LAHORE: A Christian student has filed a constitutional writ petition to the Lahore High Court (LHC) for instant action, under Section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), against the policy of awarding 20 additional marks to a Muslim hafiz-e-Quran (who has learnt the Quran by heart) candidate for admission in the MBBS and others, saying that it was discrimination against minority students and a violation of fundamental rights granted by the Constitution of Pakistan.

The petition, which is the first of its kind, has demanded the LHC either abolish the policy or make a parallel policy of awarding 20 additional marks to minority students for MBBS admission on the basis of their religious knowledge/study.

Qandeel, a Christian and daughter of Benjamin Robert Sultan, filed the petition through her counsel Rana Aamir Iftikhar and Waseem Ahmed Shahzad against the King Edward Medical College principal, who is also the Admissions Board chairman, and the Punjab Health Department. She has also asked the LHC to grant her a stay and restrain the Admissions Board and Punjab government from commencing MBBS 2005-06 academic session classes in medical colleges of Punjab till the final disposal of the petition because the selection of students for admission in medical colleges had been made on basis of discrimination and ignoring the rights of the petitioner (minority representative).

The hearing of the petition is scheduled on November 28.

The petitioner’s counsel said Qandeel also had merit certificates to prove her proficiency and knowledge of Christianity and thus should be given 20 additional marks for her selection in a medical college on an open merit seat. They said the Punjab government and the admission board be ordered to make a permanent policy under the law for additional marks on equal basis to both Muslim and non-Muslim students.

Qandeel demanded the court that she be declared a selected candidate in the MBBS and be allowed to deposit admission fee.

According to documents submitted, Qandeel is a brilliant student and scored A+ and A grades in the examination under the education examination board. She scored 820 marks out of the total 1,100 in the intermediate examination (FSc) and qualified for the entry test (for admissions in MBBS/BDS) in Punjab’s medical colleges. She got a total of 77.97 percent in the final selection merit but the last seat on the open merit was given to a student with 78.51 percent marks, depriving her from admission because of a marginal difference of 0.538 percent marks. Qandeel would get admission on open merit if she were awarded 20 additional marks given to Hafiz-e-Quran candidates, her counsel said.

Qandeel, a resident of Sialkot Road, Khokherki (Gujranwala), belongs to a lower middle class family and cannot afford admission on self-finance basis. The counsel said that being a Pakistani citizen, she had the right to be treated equally and be given protection under the Constitution. The Article 25 of the Constitution ensures fairness and equality in the state’s action, so there should be an equal education policy for all citizens without discriminating them on the basis of sex, religion, creed and caste, the counsel said.

There are no reserved seats for minorities in the medical colleges of Punjab because reserved seats in these colleges have been allocated for the under-developed districts, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and disabled persons.

Qandeel said that Islam taught equality and rights of minorities should be protected under Islam and the Article 36 of the Pakistan constitution, which imposed the duty to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of minorities on the state.

Daily Times

arun · Post by **arun** » 31 Oct 2011 22:03

In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan the Mohammadden “Sabbath” of Friday is not sufficient to prevent the religious motivated murder of a member of the minority Shia Mohammadden sect by his co-religionists of the majority Sunni Mohammadden sect

For a country claimed to have been created as a safe haven for the Mohammaddens of the Indian Sub-Continent, the level of Mohammadden on Mohammadden violence inspired by difference s in the interpretation of Mohammaddenism, is disgracefully high.

Target killing: In 2nd attempt, killers get to ex-Shia Ulema Council secretary

arun · Post by **arun** » 05 Nov 2011 21:29

Yet again in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan the Mohammadden “Sabbath” of Friday is not sufficient to prevent the religious motivated murder of a member of the minority Shia Mohammadden sect by his co-religionists of the majority Sunni Mohammadden sect

For a country claimed to have been created as a safe haven for the Mohammaddens of the Indian Sub-Continent, the level of Mohammadden on Mohammadden violence inspired by difference s in the interpretation of Mohammaddenism, is disgracefully high.

Sectarian violence revisits city as one more shot dead

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 08 Nov 2011 07:46

3 Hindus killed in Pakistan

Three members of the minority Hindu community were killed when unidentified persons attacked a village in the Sindh province of southern Pakistan on Monday, officials said. Another Hindu was seriously injured in the attack at Taluka Chak in Shikarpur district. President Asif Ali Zardari took “serious note” of the attack and directed the authorities to immediately arrest those responsible.

saadhak · Post by **saadhak** » 08 Nov 2011 20:26

SSridhar wrote:3 Hindus killed in Pakistan
Three members of the minority Hindu community were killed when unidentified persons attacked a village in the Sindh province of southern Pakistan on Monday, officials said. Another Hindu was seriously injured in the attack at Taluka Chak in Shikarpur district. President Asif Ali Zardari took “serious note” of the attack and directed the authorities to immediately arrest those responsible.

Additional details

KARACHI: Four Hindu doctors have been gunned down in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, sparking fears and panic among the minority community.

The doctors were gunned down yesterday at their clinic in Chak town close to Shikarpur.

Dr Ramesh Kumar, a former member of provincial assembly and chief patron of Pakistan Hindu Council, confirmed that Dr Ashok, Dr Naresh, Dr Ajeet and Dr Satia Paul were killed by armed assailants while working in their clinic.

"This is not the first time such an incident has taken place where members of our community have been targeted. What is of concern is that the law enforcement agencies tend to support the criminals involved in such acts," Dr Kumar told PTI.

"There is a strong population of around 50,000 Hindus in Chak so for such an incident to happen is bad and the government must take notice of it and provide protection to the minorities," Kumar demanded.

Police said they had arrested two of the people involved in the killings and were searching for the other culprits.

A police official confirmed that the killings could have been the result of a dispute between some Hindus and the local Bhaya Baradari that took place two weeks back over a Hindu girl.

arun · Post by **arun** » 09 Nov 2011 07:35

Continued persecution of the Christian victim of Mohammadden bigotry in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Toronto Sun on Asia Bibi who has fallen afoul of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s notoriously discriminatory blasphemy law:

Waiting for the hangman in Pakistan

arun · Post by **arun** » 09 Nov 2011 22:24

The sad plight of Non Mohammadden Dhimmis in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

US CIRFS on the topic of the hate embedded in school text books in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan that is directed against Hindu’s:

US commission: Pakistan schools teach Hindu hatred

And X Post's of the details to go with it:

A_Gupta wrote:Aforementioned US International Commission on Religious Freedom report on Pakistan (PDF file)

http://www.uscirf.gov/images/Pakistan-C ... 284%29.pdf

shiv wrote:Thanks for posting

Pakistan and Social Studies textbooks are rife with negative comments regarding India and Great Britain, but Hindus are often singled out for particular criticism in texts and in interview responses, together with Ahmadis, who consider themselves Muslims but are not considered so by the Pakistani constitution. Although an unbiased review of history would show that Hindus and Muslims enjoyed centuries of harmonious co-existence, Hindus are repeatedly described as extremists and eternal enemies of Islam. Hindu culture and society are portrayed as unjust and cruel, while Islam is portrayed as just and peaceful.

According to the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) report:

“Government issued textbooks teach students that Hindus are backward and superstitious, and given a chance, they would assert their power over the weak, especially, Muslims, depriving them of education by pouring molten lead in their ears...”7

arun · Post by **arun** » 15 Nov 2011 07:41

Head of the Punjabi dominated Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman discloses that the Air Force he heads carried out some 5,500 sorties in which 10,600 bombs targeting the Pathan / Pashtun minority were carried out.

Only in a country like the Islamic Republic of Pakistan where the contempt of the Armed Forces for civilians is high will we have the head of the Air Force bragging about the use of a weapon that clearly represents excessive use of force besides being known to contribute a fair degree to collateral damage, namely Air Power:

Air force dropped 10,600 bombs in two years: Qamar

saadhak · Post by **saadhak** » 15 Nov 2011 22:22

Cop arrested for attempting to rape Hindu in Pak

LAHORE: A Pakistani policeman has been arrested after being accused of attempting to rape a Hindu woman during the celebrations marking Guru Nanak's birth anniversary in his birthplace of Nankana Sahib.

The 45-year-old woman was part of a group of pilgrims who had come to Nankana Sahib from Rahim Yar Khan district in Pakistan's Punjab. She told police that a constable entered a temporary washroom at Gurdwara Tambu Singh while she was inside and attempted to sexually molest her on November 8.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 18 Nov 2011 21:00

Hindus no more safe {wtf} at home - TFT Report

hree Hindus - Dr Ajeet Kumar, Naresh Kumar and Ashok Kumar - were gunned down in Chak town of Shikarpur district in Upper Sindh on November 7 in an armed attack. According to media reports, they were punished because they intervened on behalf of two young men of their community who had been charged with criminally assaulting a Muslim girl. A Muslim cleric asked the Bhayo tribesmen to attack them, reports say.

Following the final rites of three men, the Hindu community across the province shut their businesses in protest and announced three days of mourning. "This is not first such incident. There has been an increase in faith-based violence in the country especially in Sindh in the last few years," said Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, former parliamentarian and head of Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC). "The government has completely failed to protect minorities especially Hindus and this is why the minorities are vulnerable to religious exploitation."

Last year in June, statues of Hindu gods in temples of Tharparkar district - where 55 percent of the populations is Hindu - were desecrated, angering the Hindu community across the world

Hindus are believed to be the largest religious minority of the country with a population of 2.7 million, according to the 1998 census. Most of them live in Sindh. Minority rights groups say that the kidnapping of Hindus and their forced conversion to Islam is rampant and unchecked in Pakistan. This was corroborated by the Senate's Standing Committee on Minorities' Affairs (SSCMA) in a meeting held in October last year. It expressed concerns over abduction and forcible conversion of Hindus girls to Islam in Sindh.

"During the last two years, around 29 men from only Kandkhot area have been kidnapped and several women forced to convert to Islam," Pitanber Sewani, a minority MPA from Sindh, said. He said some extremists were using the name of religion to attack minority communities.

"Hate speech and violence against the Hindus community has continued unchecked for the last several years," a civil society activist said. "Often in Friday prayers, clerics call the Hindu community agents of India."

On September 8, more than two dozen armed men hailing from the Kalhoro tribe raided a Hindu neighbourhood in Pannu Aqil and attacked and robbed their property.

Last year in June, statues of Hindu gods in temples of Tharparkar district - where 55 percent of the populations is Hindu - were desecrated, angering the Hindu community across the world. Such incidents occur in Sindh on a regular basis.

Members of the Hindu community said many of them had migrated to India or other countries during a particularly difficult period before 1999, Vankwani said, but after that the situation improved. "The recent events have made the lives of people belonging to different minority communities miserable, and they are being compelled to abandon the country once again."

Hindu leaders said that Sindhi Hindus of Umerkot, Tharparkar and Sanghar - the districts with large Hindu populations - used to celebrate the colourful festival of Holi on a massive scale until 2009. On March 11, 2009, an angry mob attacked Hindus celebrating Holi because they said some of their signs and slogans were sacrilegious.

More than 1,000 members of the Hindu community, mostly from Sindh and Balochistan, have migrated to India and other countries this year, owing to worsening law and order and threats to their families, Hindu organisations claim. Ram Singh Sodho, a Hindu member of Sindh Assembly, is among these asylum seekers. He resigned from his seat and took refuge in India after he received threats from extremist groups. "Members of our community are migrating to India and other countries because they think no one accepts them in the Pakistani society," said a Hindu journalist.

The situation of Hindus in Balochistan is no different from Sindh. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's Balochistan chapter released a report in September that documents how minorities in the province, especially Hindus, are increasingly being kidnapped for ransom, forced to convert to Islam, and persecuted to such an extent that Hindu families even fear sending their children to school.

At least four Hindu traders have been kidnapped in the past month in Balochistan. On November 4, a Hindu trader, Basant Laal, was abducted from Saryab Road, Quetta. On same day, armed men looted several shops belonging to the Hindu community in Dadhar area. Seth Ado Mal, another Hindu trader, was shot dead in Quetta on September 4.

One senator informed the SSCMA that around 500 Hindus families from Balochistan only have migrated to India for fear of abduction or threats to the lives of their family members. "We have been living with Baloch tribesmen for several centuries, but now, a sense of insecurity is widespread among our Hindu community," said Amar Laal, a Hindu political activist. He said it was a conspiracy to malign Baloch traditions and secular politics.

The situation in the militancy-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the tribal areas is the worst. In some areas, Taliban militants issued ultimatums to local Hindus and Sikhs: pay "jazya" (protection money) or leave. Hundreds of Hindu and Sikh families have left for other parts of the country, or India.

"We are living under the fear of the Taliban groups who warned us to convert or leave the area," said a Hindu trader in Khyber Agency. Militant groups didn't allow local Hindus in Kurram, Hangu, Orakzai and Kohat to perform the last rites of their dead at the Shamshan Ghat and they had to carry their dead to Attock for cremation, news reports said.

Dr Araish Kumar, a Hindu member of National Assembly hailing from Buner, said that threats had made lives of minorities miserable in tribal areas, especially in Orakzai and Khyber agencies. Taliban groups had not harassed local Sikhs in Swat and Buner during their influence in the region, he said.

"Minorities leaders in the parliament are simply representing their political parties and not the minorities and their issues," said Kumar. "The dire economic conditions in the Pashtun belt, especially in settled districts of KP like Mardan, have led to kidnapping and other abuse of the minority Hindus."

Abduction for ransom and various forms of discrimination against Hindus are also seen in Punjab. Last year in June, the demolition of a temple adjacent to a Shamshan Ghat in Rawalpindi triggered protests by the Hindu and Sikh communities.

Textbooks in Pakistani schools foster hatred and intolerance of minorities, especially for Hindus, civil society activists say. Teachers view them as "enemies of Islam". This is also corroborated by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its recent report.

Human rights groups say that there is an urgent need to weed out discriminatory provisions from laws and no instance of incitement to violence against minorities must go unpunished.