Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Tears started rolling down his cheeks when the name of Samuel Masih came up during the conversation.

Mushtaq Masih, the brother of Samuel Masih who was killed by militants in the attack on Christian Colony Peshawar on September 1st 2016, still mourns the sad death of his brother. “Many government officials have visited us to condemn the brutal killing and express their sympathies but the family of my brother is yet to be paid the compensation amount,” he lamented.

He added that the deceased had left behind five children among whom two of his daughters had been married. “The family of my brother and even us after his death feel insecure in Peshawar,” he said.

There were around twenty houses while around 150 households in the Christian Colony and all of them had been living for the last so many decades even before the independence of Pakistan, he said.

“What was the sin of my brother who was killed brutally by militants as this was not the first attack on Christians as before many time minorities were targeted in Peshawar but the government failed so far to provide security to the minorities in Peshawar”, Mushtaq Masih said.

All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement Chairman Haroon Sarbdiyal said that after the Christian Colony attack in Peshawar most of the minorities feel insecure.

He added that around 125,000 minority members lived in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while around 70,000 lived in Peshawar.

He maintained that there were at least 35,000 Sikhs, 12,225 Hindus and around 10,000 Christens living in Peshawar. He added that most of the minorities had been displaced from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). After displacement they had been dwelling in Peshawar but now they feel threatened and worried for their security. Haroon maintained that the entire minority’s community lived in different places in colonies for their safety but the terror attacks had made them worried.

He added that worship places of minorities were contributing around Rs1.7 billion to Pakistani exchequer but the government had failed to provide security to such places.

“The lack of Shamshan Ghat (platforms for cremation of bodies) for Hindu community in Peshawar is another major issue,” Haroon said, adding that Hindus were compelled to bury their dead as they had no other option available.

“Since 2009 thousands of minorities’ members had been targeted in militancy and terrorism related violence in KP and Fata but they were not compensated akin to other Pakistanis by the government, chairman of Hindu Rights Movement said.

He added that victims of the Mohmand blast the other day were compensated but the family of Samuel Masih was yet to be compensated by the government as more than two weeks had passed since the incident happened.

He deplored the provincial government had approved Rs 200 million for transgender community but only Rs 60 million for minorities.