On September 15, 2019, in

Ghotki Ghotki ( ur, ; sd, گهوٽڪي) is a city in northern Sindh, Pakistan. It is the headquarter of Ghotki District. It is the 87th largest city of Pakistan by population. Ghotki is famous for Pera Sweet. History According to Mirza Kalich Beg ...

city of

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, a large number of extremist Muslims desecrated three Hindu temples, a private school and attacked shops and houses belonging to the Hindu community over the allegation of

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

against the Hindu principal of the Sindh Public School made by a school student. A delegation investigating the attack found that the attacks were pre-planned and had political support.

Background

On 14 September, a student in the Sindh Public School in Ghotki complained to his father that the principal had allegedly made derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad. The student also made a video about this, which went viral. Following this, protesters filed an FIR against the principal on the night of 14 September. On 15 September, thousands of supporters of Mian Mithoo held sit-ins on the main roads and marched towards the school. Mian Aslam was leading the mob. Mian Mitho, the brother of Mian Aslam, has allegedly been involved in the forced conversion of Hindu girls in the past. Mian Mitho denied his involvement in the attack. The mob desecrated Hindu temples including the famous Sacho Satram Das temple, vandalised the school and attacked houses and shops belonging to the members of the Hindu community. The mobs also damaged sacred items inside the temple.

Response

Cases against 218 people involved in the attack were registered in three separate cases. Following the attack, many local Muslims in Ghotki held a rally to show solidarity with the Hindu community. Many Muslims spent the night in the temple to protect the Hindus, who were taking refugee inside it.

Bilawal Bhutto Bilawal Bhutto Zardari ( ur, بلاول بھٹو زرداری; born 21 September 1988) is a Pakistani politician who is serving as the 37th Minister of Foreign Affairs, in office since 27 April 2022. He became the chairman of Pakistan Peop ...

, Chairman of

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

(PPP) visited the Sacho Satram Dham temple which was desecrated and condemned the attack. A delegation was formed by Ministry of Human Rights to investigate the attacks which found that the attacks on temples and riots were pre-planned and had political support. The delegation found that the principal accused of blasphemy actively supported a political party in the recent Ghotki by-elections and attacking him was politically motivated. The delegation also found that local police were reluctant to even register FIR against the rioters.

References

{{coord missing, Sindh 2019 riots Blasphemy Attacks on schools in Asia Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Pakistan Islam-related controversies Destruction of religious buildings and structures Persecution of Hindus Ghotki District Hindu temples in Pakistan Religiously motivated violence in Pakistan Crime in Sindh 21st-century Hinduism Persecution by Muslims September 2019 events in Pakistan Riots and civil disorder in Pakistan Anti-Hindu violence in Pakistan

Background

Response

See also

References