Islamabad, Pakistan (CU)_ According to government estimates, Pakistan is home to 75 lakh Hindus. Pakistan’s Hindu majority is concentrated in Sindh province, where they exchange culture, customs, and language with Muslim people. However, they frequently report being abused by fanatics. To address this issue, Pakistan recently announced the establishment of the country’s first-ever committee of Hindu leaders to protect the Hindu and Sikh temples of the minority group in the Muslim-majority nation. The Ministry of Religious Affairs formed the Pakistan Hindu Mandir Management Committee based on the current model of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, which is already operational.
As per the official announcement, Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri presided over the first meeting of the Pakistan Hindu Temple Management Committee. Asif Hashmi, Chairman of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), briefed the gathering on the issues. The ETPB is a statutory body tasked with the management of religious sites and shrines of Hindu and Sikh who had relocated to India after the partition.
Krishna Sharma will chair the committee, which includes Dewan Chand Chawla, Haroon Sarab Dayal, Mohandas, Naranjan Kumar, Megha Arora, Amit Shadani, Ashok Kumar, Versi Mill Dewani, and Amar Nath Randhawa. Sharma stated, “Pakistan has created history by constituting the committee on the demand of the Hindu community”.
According to Qadri, Pakistan’s non-Muslim communities’ problems are being addressed based on priority, and the newly established committee would play a major role in assisting and solving the Pakistani Hindu community’s challenges. Qadri stated, “The committee will look after matters related to Hindu places of worship”.
The minister said that despite religious and cultural differences, humanity requires tolerance and acceptance of one another, and that wicked groups seek confrontation in Pakistan based on religion, sect, and language. He added, “The new committee will act as a bridge between the non-Muslim population and the State”. He stated that efforts were being made to ensure the wellbeing of the non-Muslim community in Pakistan in accordance with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision. Hindus are Pakistan’s largest minority group.
