Published 17:57 IST, February 6th 2020
Imran Khan's PTI party puts up vile 'Baat se nahi, laat se maanta hai' poster about Hindus
A poster put up by a leader of Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, gives a clear insight into the cruelty minority Hindus in Pak face.
Pakistan's persecution of minorities has been exposed once again as a poster put up by a leader of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has issued a vile and demeaning open threat to Hindus.
'This is the bigoted Naya Pakistan for you'
As per a Pakistani journalist, the poster in question has been put up by a leader of Pakistan’s ruling party PTI in Lahore. It says, Translated from Urdu, it reads “Hindu baat se nahin, laat se maanta hai” or "Hindus understand the language of violence (a kick), not words."
The poster also carried photographs of Pakistan PM Imran Khan and Mohammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan who led the two-nation theory. A flag of India ‘cancelled out’ was also added on the poster. The journalist who highlighted it wrote, "This is the bigoted Naya Pakistan for you."
Hate messages against Hindus, who form a minuscule minority in Pakistan, are routinely expressed by Pakistani lawmakers and politicians. Recently, two underage Hindu girls were abducted in the Sindh province and were forcibly converted and married off to older Muslim men.
US names & shames Pakistan
In a big embarrassment for Pakistan, its persecution of religious minorities was called out by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday. Speaking at the launch of International Religious Freedom Alliance, he highlighted the plight of Hindus in Pakistan. Moreover, he stated that 8 out of 10 people in the world faced problems in practising their faith freely.
Similarly, he condemned the Chinese Communist Party’s hostility for all faiths. 27 countries including the UK, Israel, Australia, Brazil and Greece are part of this Alliance.
Mike Pompeo remarked, “Together, we say that the freedom of religion is not a Western ideal, but truly the bedrock of societies. That’s clear from the Declaration of Principles. It is grounded in the International Declaration of Human Rights. Every human being has the right to change their faith or hold no faith at all. More than 8 in 10 people live in a world today where they cannot practise their faith freely.
"We condemn terrorists and violent extremists who target religious minorities whether they are Yazidis in Iraq, Hindus in Pakistan, Christians in north-east Nigeria and Muslims in Burma. We condemn blasphemy and apostasy laws that criminalise matters of the soul. We condemn the Chinese Communist Party’s hostility to all faiths."
Updated 20:31 IST, February 6th 2020