In a shocking incident (although not so shocking given Pakistan’s degenerated standards), Ajay Lalwani, a 31-year-old journalist was shot dead while he was getting a haircut. Lalwani, a reporter with a private Royal News TV channel and an Urdu language newspaper Daily Puchano, had exposed the conversion racket run by the influential Pir of Bharchundi Sharif, Pir Abdul Haq alias Mian Mithu, who abducted 117 Hindu girls, forcefully converted them and subsequently sold and married them off to Muslim men.
Almost a week ago, a Hindu girl named Kavita Bai, who was kidnapped by a man Bahalkani tribe, was converted to Islam and married to her abductor with the blessings of Main Mithu. Lalwani reported the story and it made national as well as international headlines. In India, almost all media houses reported the story, and under the pressure, the girl was given to the local police and an FIR was registered against the abductor.
An enraged Mian Mithu, who is very influential in the region, decided to get rid of Ajay Lalwani and reportedly had him killed. A few unidentified assailants shot the journalist dead when he was getting a haircut at the local salon.
The abduction and forced conversions of two underage Hindu girls Raveena (13) and Reena (15) from Ghotki in Pakistan’s Sindh on the eve of Holi earlier in 2019 were also allegedly orchestrated by Mian Mithu and his name sends shivers down the spine of Hindus in Ghotki.
Mian Mithu was a Member of the National Parliament when he successfully contested on a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ticket in 2008. He is considered to be close to the actual head of state of Pakistan, Army Chief General Bajwa and has been snapped multiple times with him. Despite his earlier association with the PPP, he also enjoys a good relationship with Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) with the latter even inviting him to join his party in 2015.
Ghotki has been terrorised by Mian Mithu, who due to his power and influence, continues to abduct Hindu girls and forcefully convert them at his will. He enjoys close ties with the Army Chief Bajwa, Pakistan PM Imran Khan, and both the ruling and opposition parties PTI and PPP respectively which allows him to even influence the judiciary if a Hindu family decides to go to court against Mithu.
Mian Mithu’s systematically abducting and converting the Hindu girls has become more brazen ever since the Imran Khan government assumed power in Pakistan. In yet another shocking incident in Ghotki in 2016, a Hindu girl, Anila Bagri had been sold by a Pakistani police official for Rs 50,000. Anila Bagri was abducted from her hometown, Mirpur Mathelo of Ghotki district, and was later rescued by the local police.
Upon hearing the news of her rescue, her family approached the Mirpur Mathelo Police where a Police official named Sajjad Qazi refused to let her go and demanded Rs 50,000 for her release. Qazi proceeded to hand over Anila to his friend Zafar Masoori in return for Rs 50,000 after which she was forcefully converted and married to Masoori. Needless to say, Mian Mithu played a pivotal role in the abduction and forced conversion of Anila, with the former facing 117 cases of abduction and forced conversion of Hindu girls.
Minorities in Pakistan face all sorts of atrocities at the hands of the majority community. Every year thousands of Hindus flee Pakistan to avoid persecution and thousands of Hindu girls are kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam, and later, they are even forcibly married to Muslim men. In Pakistan, the Hindus and other minorities face discrimination in all walks of life, be it schooling, employment, or sports. Hindu places of worship are targeted and destroyed. The Hindu population of Pakistan has declined sharply since 1947. In 1947, the Hindu population of Pakistan was around 20 % but now it is just 1.85%. The Hindu refugees are fighting for their survival whereas the Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants get political patronage in India.
While Imran Khan claimed of ‘Naya Pakistan,’ the situation has not changed in the country that believes in fundamentalist Islamist principles. The persecution of Pakistani Hindus and other minority groups continues with an increased frequency in the failed state of Pakistan.