October 23, 2016: Hindus form the largest minority group of Pakistan with a population of about 7 million. But many times we hear news of forced conversion of Hindu girls, the acts of vandalism against Hindu temples.
In 2014, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved the formation of a National Commission on Minorities to promote religious harmony in the country. The Pakistan Hindu Council had proposed that an active committee should be established at the federal level to prevent these violent incidents against the minorities.
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A 400 million project is set to be launched in Pakistan's Sindh province to protect Hindu temples, churches and gurudwaras against the constant arson attacks, the media reported on Friday according to IANS.
According to a report by IANS, the government has Pakistan is all set to launch a 400 million project in Pakistan's Sindh province for the protection of Hindu temples, gurudwaras and churches.
Special assistant to Chief Minister of Sindh, Khatumal Jeewan, said, "This project will greatly enhance the level of security at places of worship. The project involves setting up a modern surveillance and monitoring system at each place of worship using multiple video cameras installed at strategic locations around it."
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The project will mainly spend the amount on the purchase of surveillance cameras that will be installed at the holy places of Sindh.
The project was in line after continuous attacks on Hindu temples in Pakistan. On Mrach 15, 2014, a Hindu temple was desecrated and set on fire by unidentified persons in Larkana. Few days later on 28th, another Hindu temple was attacked by arsons in Hyderabad, Sindh. These attacks were done to fan flames of riots in Sindh.
According to a report by Sindh Police, there are 1,253 places of worship belonging to the minorities of Pakistan including Hindus, Sikhs and Christians. There are 703 Hindu temples, 6 gurudwaras and 523 churches. 21 of such places of worship belong to the Ahmadi community. All these places will be getting massive security enhancement. Nearly 2,310 policemen have been deputed to guard these holy places.
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The Pakistani statue books have laws that have been laid down for the desecration of religious places. But the enforcement depends on the community and their will to make these laws work. One can only hope for the ceasing of the attacks on Hindu temples and other acts of intolerance against the minorities in Pakistan. Only time will tell if these hopes are fulfilled or not.
– Prepared by Diksha Arya of NewsGram. Twitter: @diksha_arya53