KARACHI: The murder of four Hindu doctors in Pakistan's southern Sindh province has again put the issue of religious tension at the forefront of politics and discussion in the country. Sheikh Omar Kemvani in Karachi, who runs a large mosque on the city's outskirts, is one of the few who acknowledge there is a problem in Pakistan. “We always try to hide the problems, saying this is just one incident or whatnot, but how many one time incidences does it take to make it a real problem facing our country?” he told Bikyamasr.com. The doctors were gunned down on Monday at their clinic in Chak town. Ramesh Kumar, a former member of provincial assembly and chief patron of Pakistan Hindu Council confirmed that doctors Ashok, Naresh, Ajeet and Satia Paul were killed by armed assailants while working in their clinic. “This is not the first time such an incident has taken place where members of our community have been targeted. What is of concern is that the law enforcement agencies tend to support the criminals involved in such acts,” Dr Kumar told PTI. “There is a strong population of around 50,000 Hindus in Chak. Government must take notice of it and provide protection to the minorities.” Police said they had arrested two of the people involved in the killings and were searching for the other culprits. A police official confirmed that the killings could have been the result of a dispute between some Hindus and the local Bhaya Baradari that took place two weeks back over a Hindu girl. But for many, including Pakistani Hindu Rajeev, it matters not. “Let us not look for simple answers. The reality is that many Hindus hate Muslims and many Muslims hate Hindus,” he began. “If we cannot have some sort of dialogue between the two communities nothing will get better.” The killings also come on the heals of the government issuing a report saying that hundreds of Pakistani Hindu girls had been forced to convert to Islam in recent months, again sparking fears that the religious tension could spill over into increase street battles and violence.
