On June 20, 2023, a Hindu businessman in Pakistan known as Jagdish Kumar Mukki was abducted from the Kashmore District of Sindh province and brutally beaten and tortured by his unidentified captors. The abductors have demanded a ransom of five crores for his release.
Subsequently, a report was filed by Mukki’s family at the Kashmore Police Station and also with the Karachi Police headquarters with the help of Pakistan Darawar Ittehad chief Fakir Shiva Kachhi.
The abductors, on July 31, 2023, sent a video to Naresh Kumar, Mukki’s son, wherein he was chained around his hands, legs and neck. He was also thrashed with sticks with an automatic weapon aimed at his head. In the video, the victim is seen pleading with the kidnappers for mercy.
This distressing incident shed light on the alarming decline of human rights conditions in the country, where religious minorities often become the victims of targeted attacks.
Situation of minorities
The atrocities against minorities in Pakistan are already on the rise, and incidents such as enforced disappearance, torture and killings are common. The Hindus, Sikhs and Christians in Pakistan are living under threat as they are frequently being targeted with fake charges of blasphemy.
Many young girls belonging to the minority community are also forcibly kidnapped and converted to Islam. Earlier, a Hindu girl Pooja Kumari was killed by a man in her home in Pakistan ‘s Sindh province. She was killed in Sukkur after she put up resistance against attackers.
Actions taken by human rights agencies
This incident has sparked a sharp reaction from various human rights organisations in the country. Activists say that human rights in Pakistan records have touched a new low, with several media reports and global bodies reflecting the dire situation of the women, minorities, children and media persons in the country.
During a recent consultation organised by the HRCP (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan), the human rights defenders called on all political parties to firmly commit to safeguarding and promoting the rights of religious minorities and sects through manifestos and policies.
The HRCP Council Member Farhatullah Babar has strongly emphasised that the state’s stance on the problem of forced conversions of young Hindu, Sikh and Christian women remains in denial.
Similar incidents in the past
On July 22, 2023, the three daughters of a Hindu businessman named Leela Ram were suddenly abducted by three unknown men in Dharki, Sindh, and later converted to Islam and were married off to the abductors themselves. On February 27, 2013, another Hindu businessman named Parkash Kumar was abducted from Quetta (Pakistan)
On February 2012, three Hindu traders, Ramesh Lal, Ashok Kumar and Hari Ram, were kidnapped and abducted in Sindh Province of Pakistan, and prior to that, two other Hindu Businessmen were abducted from Balochistan on November 22, 2010.
Even prior to that, in February 2007, a Hindu businessman named Ashok Kumar Kohistani was kidnapped from Sakrand and was later killed.
