AMRITSAR: Pakistan‘s Sindh province has begun setting up a dedicated security unit for the protection of religious places of minorities, following an increase in the incidents of vandalism and sacrilege in Hindu temples and Sikh gurdwaras in the recent days.
Lal Chand Malhi, a Member of National Assembly of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said on Wednesday that the special protection force for minorities would look after the security of temples, gurdwaras, churches and places of worship of other minority communities in the Sindh province.
The decision is in line with a historic 2015 judgment by the former Chief Justice of Pakistan, directing all the provinces to form a special protection force for the sacred places of minority communities.
Malhi said that for the proposed force of 5,000 personnel, fresh recruitments were being made.
Hailing the formation of the special protection unit for the religious places of minorities, Ranjit Singh, a Member of Provincial Assembly representing Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, said the force was being formed not only in Sindh but also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. “Members of minority communities were also being inducted in the force since they knew the moral code of conduct for respective religions.”
Reacting on the formation of the new force, general secretary of All Pakistan Hindu Panchayat, Ravi Dawani, said it would be fulfilment of a long awaited demand of the minority communities.
Many, however, were sceptical, saying that in the past as well, Pakistan’s political leadership had made several assurances for the safety and security of religious places of minorities, including installation of CCTV cameras, deployment of local police and so on but those promises were never kept.