Members of Pak's Hindu community to protest forced conversion, abductions and marriages of minors
Karachi (PTI): Members of Pakistan's minority Hindu community will organise a rally and converge at the Sindh Assembly building here later this month to protest the rising incidents of forced conversions, abductions and marriages of minors.
The rally, which is being organised by several Hindu community leaders in Sindh province, will be held on March 30, under the banner of Pakistan Darawer Ittehad, an organisation working for minority rights in the country.
Posters released by the organisation on social media said the rally is being held to protest the abduction, forced conversion and marriages of minor girls and forced possession of land belonging to the Hindu community in the Sindh province.
"We are expecting thousands from the Hindu community to participate in the rally as the government has turned a blind eye to the abductions, forced conversions and fake marriages of our women and girls," Chairman of Pakistan Darawer Ittehad Faqir Shiva Kuchi said.
He said the outfit has already begun mobilising rallies across the province to raise awareness.
"When this protest rally will be held on March 30, we want everyone to see the issues faced by Hindus and members from other minority communities in the country," he explained.
Kuchi added that their demand was that a stalled bill against forced conversion and marriages be passed in the Sindh Assembly.
In 2019, the issue of abducting and forcible conversion of Hindu girls in various districts of Sindh province was taken up in the Sindh Assembly.
A resolution was debated and unanimously passed after it was modified over objections of certain lawmakers that it should not be restricted to only Hindu girls.
But the bill, which criminalised forcible religious conversions was later rejected in the assembly. A similar bill was again proposed, but it got rejected in 2021.
In January this year, as many as 12 United Nations rights experts expressed alarm over the rising incidents of kidnapping, forced conversions and marriages of girls as young as 13 in Pakistan.
Forced conversion and forced marriages are prohibited in Islam.
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's report, around 1,000 girls are forcibly converted to Islam every year.
It noted that most of the converted girls belong to the impoverished Hindu community from the Sindh province.
Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.
According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in the Muslim-majority country.
Muslims account for about 96 per cent of Pakistan's 207 million population, Hindus 2.1 per cent and Christians about 1.6 per cent according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates.
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Increasing wild animals amid decreasing forest cover contributes to human-animal conflicts: Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre told the Legislative Assembly on Thursday that the increase in the population of wild animals like tigers and elephants, amid a decrease in forest cover in the state, is contributing to human-animal conflicts.
The minister was responding to questions raised by MLAs, including Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka in the Assembly.
"The number of animals has increased. In 1972, Bandipur had 12 tigers. Now, there are 175 tigers. Regarding the carrying capacity (at Bandipur), we have formed a team of experts and will be getting a report from them," Khandre said.
He said, "Forest cover is not increasing proportionately with the rise in animal population. In fact, forests have decreased. We are trying to save forests."
Ashoka sought to know from the minister if the government's recent decision to halt safaris had decreased human-animal conflict.
In November 2025, the government stopped safaris at Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves following a spate of tiger attacks that resulted in human deaths. However, in February, the government decided to lift the safari ban.
Explaining the decision to stop safari, Khandre said, "Safari was not stopped all of a sudden. In November and December, human-animal conflict increased. In Bandipur and the surrounding areas, three lives were lost in a span of fifteen days due to tiger attack, while one person became permanently disabled".
"When I visited Chamarajanagara district, several people and organisations, including farmers, had submitted memoranda, as two lives were already lost by then."
"They had alleged that the safari vehicles were operating even during the night and they were not being regulated, more than the permitted number of people were coming for safari, and it should be halted, or else it may lead to the loss of more lives," he said, adding that based on the memorandum, he had asked officials to examine things.
As there was one more tiger attack in a week's time, the minister further said, following this, he immediately ordered to stop the safari. "Yes, lots of tourists come for the safaris..... Livelihoods were also lost. There was a loss of Rs 6-8 crore. But we wanted to save lives," he said.
Noting that Bandipur has a periphery of 314 km, of which 100 km is a maximum conflict zone, Khandre said. "In that region, we have 25 anti-poaching camps and round-the-clock patrols, with all required facilities. We have set up an integrated command centre. Drone cameras and other facilities have been provided there," he said.
He said the decision to reopen the Bandipur safari was made after regulating things, based on the recommendations in the interim report from a committee consisting of a central government representative.
The government is conducting an outreach programme in 70 villages around the periphery of Bandipur forest, where the government will use 35 per cent of the income from safaris on education and livelihood improvement, Khandre said.
Responding to another question by Malavalli Congress MLA P M Narendraswamy, the minister said, elephant attacks are also on the rise day by day.
"There are several reasons for this. The elephant population has increased. The elephant corridor has been fragmented due to various developmental works like expressways, among others," he said.
Stating that the government has taken various measures to stop this, Khandre said, "The government is erecting 116 km of railway barricades at a cost of Rs 201 crore. They are at various stages....we are also taking up other measures like tentacle fencing. We also have an elephant task force and a leopard task force (to tackle leopard attacks), command centres, and use of modern technologies to monitor the movement of wild animals."
The minister accepted the request of Sullya BJP MLA Bhagirathi Murulya to allow the trekking at Kumara Parvatha, considered one of the toughest trails in the Western Ghats, from 5.30 am instead of the current 6 am.
"The Subramanya-Kumara Parvatha is 12 km, up and down it is a 24-km, 2-day trek. Earlier, the trek started at 6 am, and people had to camp at one location that had no basic facilities, coupled with wildlife movement," Khandre said.
Considering all these factors, the time was changed by senior officials in June 2024, he said. "Now, the 14-km Beedahalli-Kumara Parvatha trek takes 7 hours. The 19-km Beedahalli-Kumara Parvatha-Subramaya needs 10-12 hours.
The Subramanya-Shesha Parvatha-Subramanya is 20 km. Those who start at 6 am have to return before 6 pm.....The starting time will be changed to 5.30 am," he said.
Noting that beyond the carrying capacity, about 2,000-3,000 people used to gather there for trekking sometimes, which could cause disaster, the minister said.
"It has been decided to regulate it by allowing only 150 people per day. The trek happens for six months; it cannot be done during the monsoon and when there are chances of wildfire during summer."
