Sindh: Criminal Gangs, Feudal Lords, and the Blood of Minorities

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan was borne on the foundation of violence across every spectrum known to humankind. Time and again, the terror-sponsor nation has proved this by ostracising a purge of its minorities, especially Hindus and Christians. The population who were once known as Hindus and Christians have been reduced to thirds, constantly attacked by criminal gangs, radical Islamist zealots, and an Islamized establishment. 

The case of Rajkumar, a Hindu businessman, abducted in broad daylight from his factory in Kashmore, Sindh is not an isolated incident. It was yet another sordid episode in the series of horror that minorities have been facing constantly in Pakistan.

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For years, criminal gangs from the majority community especially from Punjab province, have wreaked havoc on minority communities. They have been extorting, looting, and abducting with impunity. Backed by feudal lords and the Punjabi Army elite, these gangs act as overlords.

The nexus between criminal syndicates and influential zamindars has created an environment where there is no avenue for justice. Any police efforts to impede these gangs have met with retaliatory violence — often targeted at Hindu villages. Entire families are terrorized, and kidnapped victims are used as bargaining chips to coerce law enforcement into releasing arrested criminals. If the police resist, the victims are brutally killed, sending a chilling message to anyone who dares oppose this reign of terror.

Consider the situation of Jagdish Kumar Mukki Hindu businessman who was kidnapped in Kashmore in June. His kidnappers made an outrageous demand of PKR 5 crore ransom, and sent a clip to his son Naresh Kumar in which Mukki was seen being chained, tortured, and threatened with execution. The video underscores the sadistic level of violence faced by the minorities of Pakistan whose lives are reduced to bargaining chips in the criminal syndicate that operates freely at the mercy of the Pak establishment.

More appalling than these violations of human rights is the brazen collaboration between the criminal underworld and Pakistan’s political establishment. These gangs are given immunity by feudal lords, local politicians, and even army military personnel. 

The dacoits of Sindh, notorious for their Hindu and Christian hunts, operate under the wing of this ruthless nexus, making the illusion of justice nothing more than a cruel mockery for the victims.

Violence against minorities does not end with abductions and ransom demands. The false accusations of blasphemy often lead to mob lynching, long prison sentences, or even execution in an intolerant society. This systematic persecution is deeply rooted in the discriminatory policies of the establishment, which prioritize the majority community at the expense of everyone else.

While global awareness of the plight of Pakistan’s minorities is rising, the Army-state’s response has been woefully absent. The Pak Army and Punjabi political elite, are often quick to suppress dissent in Balochistan or crush any form of democratic movements, and remain conspicuously silent on the horrors faced by Hindus and Christians. This silence speaks volumes. It reveals a state that does not only condone but actually promotes the violation and subjugation of its minority peoples.

Countless enforced disappearances, systematic torture, and extrajudicial killings have become part and parcel of life for minority groups in Pakistan with its share of the population suffering unimaginable horrors ultimatum. This systemic scapegoating is meted out to women, children, and even activists, and tells a very sad tale of people. 

Minority girls, especially Hindu and Christian girls in Pakistan face unimaginable atrocities. Even minors are abducted by Islamists, raped, and in many cases killed, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off to their abductors. 

Tragically, these crimes are not only socially accepted but also legitimized by Pakistan’s judicial-legal system, which routinely sides with the perpetrators. The courts frequently validate these so-called “conversions” despite clear evidence of coercion and abuse, leaving the victims’ families powerless and shattered. This systemic failure to protect minority girls shows the deep-seated bigotry and institutionalized discrimination.

There is nothing particularly unique about the brutalization of the Hindus, Christians, and other minorities that remain in Pakistan. It is part and parcel which is at the moment country’s institutionalized decadence. Once dominated by warlords and barbaric gangs, now Sindh has turned into a hell on earth for its minorities while the authorities remain INDIFFERENT. It is crucial that the international community shifts the focus to Pakistan’s aggression and strengthen the voices of its silenced minorities. 

These atrocities are a reflection of the systemic rot within the country’s institutions. Sindh, overrun by criminal gangs, has become a living nightmare for minorities, while the Army-state turns a blind eye to their suffering. The international community must hold Pakistan accountable for its actions and amplify the voices of its persecuted minorities.