LARKANA: A delegation of notables from different minority communities of Larkana district called on Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari at Naudero House on Friday and apprised him of their grievances and problems.

Former chairperson of the Hindu Panchayat Committee (HPC), Larkana district, Advocate Kalpana Devi raised the issue of ‘Hindu Marriage Bill’ and called for reintroducing it in the Sindh Assembly by incorporating in it certain amendments.

She told Dawn that the Sindh governor did not give his assent to the bill because certain religious parties had raised objections over it. Therefore, necessary amendments be made and the bill be tabled in the assembly so that conversion and others issues could be effectively addressed and resolved, she said.

She quoted the PPP chairman as telling the delegation that the provincial government’s law committee would review it.

Kalpana Devi, Mukhi Lok Chand, Dr Dhrampal (Larkana HPC chairman), Lekh Raj, Gridhari Mal and others suggested that a separate shelter home be established to keep the Hindu girls [allegedly] abducted because their parents could not meet them after such girls [re-emerged or recovered] were sent to Darul Aman.

Ms Devi suggested that a committee of civil society members headed by a district and sessions judge be set up to look after the proposed shelter home.

The delegation told Mr Bhutto-Zardari that the Hindu community was excluded from the bracket of the deserving people eligible to benefit from the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). They said the scheduled caste communities like Bagri, Bheel and Harijan, constituting 20 per cent of the Hindu community, were grossly neglected. Claiming that 80pc of them were PPP supporters, Ms Devi stressed that they should be treated properly and their grievances be addressed.

She said that elite of the scheduled caste be included in the representative delegation at all forums, adding that poverty alleviation and welfare programmes also be initiated for the scheduled caste communities. She called for accommodating them in the Benazir Basti scheme.

The delegation highlighted the issue of encroachment of Hindus’ places of worship and properties in Larkana, Madeji and Mehar and noted that some of them were under the control of the Auqaf department. They demanded immediate removal of such encroachments.

The delegation also demanded that the five per cent job quota for minorities be fully implemented. They complained of an indifferent attitude of the MNAs and MPAs elected on minorities’ seats. They called for introducing dual vote system for minorities so that they could elect candidates of their choice.

Taking notice of the complaints about encroachment of worship places and houses of minorities, the PPP chairman directed former home minister Sohail Anwar Siyal to ensure removal of all such encroachments. He also asked Mr Siyal that how such encroachments took place during his tenure as the home minister. Mr Bhutto-Zardari also directed that the minorities’ job quota be implemented in letter and spirit.

He said that when the PPP had its government at the Centre, it had launched the BISP to contain poverty and unemployment but the rightist parties like PML-N and PTI were pushing people below the poverty line through their anti-people policies.

The PPP chairman said that providing employment to jobless youths was his party’s top priority, and pointed out that despite paucity of funds, the PPP government had initiated UC-based poverty reduction programme which would be implemented in Larkana district soon.

The lawmakers present at the meeting included Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Lalchand Ukrani, Abdul Fatah Bhutto, Khursheed Junejo, Sohail Anwar Siyal, Hizbullah Bughio, Perveen Bashir Qaimkhani, Nida Khuhro, Seemi Farhat Soomro, Khair Mohammad Shaikh, Mohammad Ali Bhutto and Kalpana Devi.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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