Pakistan summoned the Indian Charge d’affaires on Monday to register its “serious” concerns over the killing of eleven members of a Pakistani Hindu family who had migrated to India last year.
They were found dead under mysterious circumstances on Aug. 9 in Lodta Haridasot village of Jodhpur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
“It was highlighted that despite repeated requests by the High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi for details regarding the tragic incident, the Indian government continues to evade the issue, has disclosed only scant information about the case and has failed to share any substantive details regarding the cause and circumstances of the deaths,” said a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
In addition, the statement said, the daughter of the deceased head of the family, Shrimati Mukhi, had implicated India’s spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), in the murder of her father, mother and other family members, allegedly “after the agency failed to convince them to spy on Pakistan and issue anti-Pakistan statements.”
“It was underscored that in the interest of justice to the bereaved family and also to ensure the safety and security of other Pakistani nationals in India, it was of utmost importance for the Government of India to be fully transparent about this unfortunate incident,” it added.
“The Indian side was urged to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the matter, provide access to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to the surviving member of the bereaved family, share copies of the FIR (First Information Report) and the initial investigation report and facilitate the presence of the High Commission for Pakistan’s representatives during the post-mortem of the deceased persons without further delay,” the statement added.
Earlier, at least 14 members of Pakistan’s Hindu minority community recently returned from India after six months, saying their dreams of better economic prospects in the neighboring country had been destroyed.
Speaking to reporters at the Wagah border crossing, Kanhaya Lal and Nanak Ram, the heads of the families, said they went to India hoping for better economic prospects, but it was a “farce” and they suffered great hardships.
India recently passed a controversial law allowing Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to apply for fast-track citizenship.
“I knew that family, and most of them were educated. But there are no opportunities for any outsiders in India,” said Lal. “The fact is they were living in miserable conditions and suffered from extreme poverty and there were dangerous threats to their lives.”
