Karachi: A Pakistani minister Friday ruled out media reports that Hindus were migrating from Sindh province to India after a series of persecuting incidents.
Federal Minister for Sport, Ejaz Jakhrani, whose constituency has been in Jacobabad from where the Hindu families were reported to be migrated, said that such reports were aimed at maligning not only the government but the whole country.
“With such baseless reports the name of Pakistan is being defamed and I assure you that there is no such flight of people,” Jakhrani told a press conference.
Instead, the families were going India to perform their religious rituals called “Teerath”, the minister said.
Jakhrani who is the Pakistan People’s Party legislator from Jacobabad was accompanied with Mahesh Kumar, the president of Hindu Punjayat and Babu Khurana, the secretary general of the Punjayat. Besides, Mukesh Chawla, the provincial minister for minorities was also present.
About 60 families from Jacobabad districts Thursday left the district for Lahore to cross into India through Wahga border with “alleged intentions” to leave the country.
After media reports, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik ordered to stop them at the Lahore station and to persuade them not to leave the country.
Jakhrani said that he called Malik to allow them to go to India as it was a journey for religious purposes and not what the media purported.
“In all 240 people are going from different districts of Sindh and they are going collectively because it is easier for them to get a visa from India,” Jakhrani said.
