

AMRITSAR : There is a sense of relief for the minority communities of Pakistan after the government announced to raise a contingent of 2,000 policemen specifically to guard religious places of Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Ahmadiyyas in Sindh province. The announcement was made a couple of days after minority communities in Sindh organized protests demanding security from government.

Talking to TOI over phone from Karachi on Friday, president of Pakistan Hindu Sewa Welfare Trust (PHSWT) Sanjesh Dhanja informed that the new force would help alleviate fears among minority communities. He said in the recent past, there had been several incidents of attacks on members and religious places of minority communities in Sindh. "Those who can afford have already deployed private guards in temples," he said. Management of Swami Narayan temple in Karachi had deployed several guards.

"But every temple management can't afford private guards. We are now hopeful that the new force would bring sense of safety and security among minorities of Pakistan," said Ravi Kumar Chohan , an active member of PHSWT. Chief of Karachi-based Pakistan Sikh Council Ramesh Singh also hailed the government initiative. An active member of Ahmadiyya community in Qadian in Gurdaspur district, Chaudhary Maqbool Ahmad, said, "A lot of Ahmadiyyas from Pakistan visit Qadian every year and they have expressed some satisfaction over new announcement of Pak government ."

Babu Kothari, a priest in Krishna temple and Sardharo Dham in Nagarparkar town of Sindh, said, "This was indeed a much-awaited decision of Pakistan government to instill a sense of security among minority communities who were being persecuted by fundamental forces." Dhanja said PHSWT had demanded from the government to recruit members of minority communities in the proposed force. "A Hindu will know better about the temple, its maryada and security so will a Sikh, Christian and Ahmadiyya of their respective religious places," he said.

Reeta Murad, a Christian, said that there had been several incidents of attacks on churches and their community. "The new force will not only work as a deterrent but will also allow us to perform our religious rites without fear," she said.

