Pakistani Hindus Feel Pressure to Convert To Islam

Source: tribune.com.pk
Sunday, June 27, 2010

SIALKOT, PAKISTAN : A total of 57 Hindus have converted to Islam since May 14 in Sialkot. The people belong to adjacent Pasroor town and embraced Islam to “survive in the society,” their Hindu relatives told The Express Tribune on Monday. Mangut Ram, a close relative of some of the new converts, said that 35 members of a family embraced Islam because they were under pressure from employers.

He said four Hindu brothers along with their families lived in the village of Nikki Pindi. Two of them and their families embraced Islam on May 14 in a local mosque (Haidri Mosque) in the village. Ram said that Hans Raj, Kans Raj, Meena/Kartar and Sardari Lal along with his with nephews and sons worked at an eatery in Karachi.

Ram said that his co workers often spoke against Hindus in Karachi where his family worked. “The owner of the shop where I worked said that after a few months of his employing me the sales dropped drastically because people were avoiding purchasing and eating edibles prepared by Hindus, said Ram”. Sardari Lal and his brother Meena/Kartar worked at a sweets shops for several years and made a decent living. Other Muslims employees of the nearby shops discriminated against them and persecuted them. The shop owner was forced to think about their future at his establishment. “That was when the two brothers and their families decided to embrace Islam in order to keep their jobs and be secure,” Ram added.