Hindus in Pakistan's Sindh province living in fear following blasphemy incident involving a murdered doctor

Karachi: The Hindu community in Pakistan’s Southern Sindh province is living in fear as some influential people who have threatened them of dire consequences in the wake of a recent blasphemy incident are still at large, according to a prominent Hindu community leader.

Shiva Kucchi who heads the Pakistan Darawar Ittehad, an organisation formed to protect the rights of Hindus said since the Umerkot blasphemy incident some influential people have openly hurled threats against the Hindu community.

“The police have made no arrests so far so we are in fear,” he said.

The Umerkot incident last month in upper Sindh has highlighted the dominant role of some Muslim clerics and religious leaders in finding ways to target Hindu community members and those individuals who are sympathetic to their plight.

Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar a doctor from Umerkot was killed by the police in an encounter and his body was desecrated by an enraged mob last month after he was accused of committing blasphemy, a charge he denied in a video message he posted on social media a day before his killing in Mirpurkhas area.

Later it emerged that some members of the Hindu community rushed to help Kunbhar’s family when they were taking the body for burial and an enraged mob attacked them.

Some Hindus, however, rescued the body from being burnt totally and in response to this some people belonging to a religious group have hurled threats against them.

“The police are doing nothing so far although we have lodged complaints with them,” Shiva said.

A police official in Umerkot, Shakoor Rasheed said they had got the complaints but no evidence and they were keeping a close watch on the situation.

“The police are taking all steps to ensure the guilty parties are punished for their role in the killing of Dr Shahnawaz,” he said.