July 31, 2018
Three Hindu candidates of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) were elected from the Muslim-majority areas in Pakistan’s Sindh province in the July 25 general elections, a media report said on Tuesday. Mahesh Malani won a National Assembly seat from Tharparkar (NA-222) , while Hari Ram Kishwari Lal and Jamshoro’s Giyanoo Mal alias Giyan Chand Essrani were elected from the provincial assembly seats PS-147 and PS-81, respectively, the Daily Times reported today.
All the three candidates won from the general seats for the first time ever in the history of the country. Malani won his seat from Tharparkar district by bagging 106,630 votes against his opponent, Arbab Zakaullah who secured only 87,261 votes. The Hindu population makes up 49 per cent of the total population of Thar desert.
Kirshwari Lal, who is considered a close friend of former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, won his seat from Mirpurkhas district, which has total population of around 15 lakh out of which 23 per cent are Hindus, the paper said. He secured 33,201 votes against his competitor from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Mujeeb-ul-Haque who got 23,506 votes.
Essrani belongs to Thano Bola Khan of Sindh’s Kohistan region in Jamshoro district, which has a substantial Hindu population. He secured 34,927 votes against Malik Changez Khan who got 26,975 votes. Hindu organisations in Pakistan welcomed the election results of the Hindu candidates on general seats. Pakistan Hindu Sabha Chairman Dr Govind Ram said that nomination of Hindu candidates on general seats was a wonderful idea. Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.
According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country. Majority of Pakistan’s Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows.
Source : The Indian Express
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