Delhi: Hindu refugees from Pakistan hold march in support of CAA
Pakistani Hindu refugees who fled the country because of religious persecution and came to India, held a march in the national capital in support of the newly amended citizenship law on Friday. The group urged the government to accord citizenship to persecuted families and appealed to opposition parties to not oppose the law.
Dharamvir, who used to be a citizen of Pakistan and live in the country's Sindh district, told news agency ANI, "We fled atrocities from Pakistan and came to India. Some people are saying don't give citizenship to us. Where will we go? We were looted and forced to leave the country. We demand the government to give citizenship to us soon."
Similiar sentiment was echoed by other members of the community as well. S Tara Chand, who also came from Pakistan, said that persecuted Hindu families who came to India are not infiltrators.
"We are not infiltrators. We legally entered India with a visa and passport. The opposition parties are annoyed with us. We have come here, where else will we go? Opposition parties are saying don't give citizenship to us. I appeal to them not to oppose this and give us citizenship at the earliest," Tara Chand said.
Condition of Pakistani Hindus has been highlighted by the comments for former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar, who at a television show, said that Danish Kaneria, another former Pak cricketer and a member of the Hindu community, was treated unfairly because he was a Hindu.
BJP MP Gautam Gambhir also commented on this by saying if prominent cricketers are not being treated unfairly one can only imagine how a common citizen would be living in Pakistan if he is from a minority community.
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