A Hindu doctor in the Tharparkar district of Sindh province was allegedly tortured by a leader of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party during local bodies’ election in Islamkot on June 26.
According to the Dawn newspaper, after the incident, doctors and paramedics boycotted work and outdoor patient departments in government health facilities in Mithi, Islamkot, Chhachro, Diplo, Kaloi, Nagarparkar and other towns calling the incident an act of shame.
PPP leader Ghulam Mohammad Junejo, who was also an employee of the country’s health department, humiliated Dr Das in public on the election day, the Dawn reported.
A video that went viral afterwards showed Junejo humiliating and torturing the doctor, who was performing duty as the presiding officer at a polling station.
The protesters said that the PPP leader Ghulam Mohammad Junejo not only hurled abuses at Dr Ghansham Das but he also slapped him in front of other staffers and policemen, the Dawn reported.
They demanded the arrest of the arrogant leader and warned that they would continue their token boycott until their demand was met.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Supreme Court formed a one-man Commission on Minorities Rights headed by Dr Shoaib Suddle has taken notice of the torture of Dr Ghansham Das.
The commission’s director-general Qasim Khan sought a detailed report of the torture of the Hindu doctor. The Commission was formed by Supreme Court in 2019 to oversee the implementation of its judgement (PLD 2014 SC 699) on minority rights, the Dawn reported.
Activists say that the human rights in Pakistan records have touched a new low with several media reports and global bodies reflecting the dire situation for women, minorities, children, and media persons in the country.
In Sindh, forced conversions and attacks on minority communities have become even more rampant. Forced conversion of minor Hindu, Sikh, and Christian girls, always under duress, has become an increasingly common phenomenon in the country.