Over 25 Pak Hindu families seek political asylum in India

Islamabad, Dec 27 (PTI) Over 25 Pakistani Hindu
families in Balochistan have sought political asylum in India
citing growing cases of kidnapping for ransom and target
killing of members the minority community in the restive
province.
"As many as 27 Hindu families from Balochistan have
sent applications to the Indian embassy for asylum in India,"
a top official at the Federal Ministry of Human Rights was
quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper on Monday.
Hindus had been living in Balochistan for centuries,
but in recent weeks several members of the minority community
had been kidnapped or murdered, forcing them to seek asylum in
India, Regional Director for the Federal Ministry of Human
Rights Saeed Ahmed Khan said.
"It is a matter of great concern and urged the
government to take immediate measures to improve the law and
order situation in Balochistan," Khan told a seminar titled
"Provincial Conference on Balochistan Crisis" in Quetta.
According to statistics of the Ministry of Human
Rights, violation of human rights has been committed at a
large scale in Balochistan and people are being abducted for
ransom.
Baloch youths had become frustrated because they had
been denied rights and their national identity had not been
recognised, National Party's vice president Ishaq Baloch said,
adding arrest and disappearance of youths had damaged efforts
to secure peace in the province.
Hazara Democratic Party chairman Abdul Khaliq Hazara
blamed "hidden hands" for the poor law and order situation in
the province. He said over 100 groups involved in kidnappings
for ransom were operating in Balochistan.
Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party's provincial president
Usman Khan Kakar said Pakistan would get stability, peace and
prosperity if the centre recognised the identity and languages
of all nationalities in the country. PTI