Karachi [Pakistan], November 15 (ANI): The Hindu community in Pakistan’s Karachi city celebrated Diwali while following the protocols set to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“The festival of Diwali is celebrated with lamps, lights and fireworks. You can see that children, young people, older people , everyone is celebrating Diwali today,” said Pooja, one of the Hindus living in Pakistan.
She further said, “We have also come here to celebrate this festival, and to enjoy with paints and art work. So I feel that instead of playing with blood, it is so much better to celebrate our festivals with colours.”
Karachi‘s Swami Narayan Temple was illuminated to mark the occasion.
“We are celebrating Diwali while observing SOPs. During these celebrations, we are praying to God to wipe out this pandemic as soon as possible,” said Geeta Kumari, a Hindu homemaker.
It is believed that on this day Lord Rama (the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu) returned from a 14-year-long exile, during which he fought and won a battle against the demon king Ravana.
People across India and around the world celebrate the festival by decorating their houses, exchanging gifts, and offering prayers in order to commemorate the “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance”.
Is any Hindu left in Pakistan: Twitteratis on Imran Khan’s Diwali greetings
Amid growing human rights concerns in the country, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan‘s greetings to the Hindu citizens on the occasion of Diwali on Saturday has evoked several sarcastic comments on social media, reported Sputnik.
“Is any Hindu left in Pakistan? I thought all are already converted, anyways, Happy Diwali,” said a Twitter user.
Another Twitter user stated that Pakistan has as many Hindus as the number of letters in Khan’s tweet.
“Do you still have any left, in Pakistan?” asked another Twitterati.
While wishing the Pakistani Hindus, Khan addressed them as “citizens”, instead of the usual “brothers”, which many say points out his attitude towards the community.
Meanwhile, the Hindu community in Pakistan‘s Karachi city celebrated Diwali on Saturday.
“We have come here to celebrate this festival with colourful rangolis. I feel instead of playing with blood, it is so much better to celebrate our festivals with colours,” said Pooja a Pakistani Hindu.
Pakistan has always been targeted worldwide for perpetuating violence against its minorities. On several occasions, it has promised to safeguard the interest of the minority communities in the nation, however, continuing attacks on them narrate a different tale.
This is manifested in various forms of targeted violence, mass murders, extrajudicial killings, abduction, rapes, forced conversion to Islam, etc., making Pakistani Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Ahmadiyyas, and Shias the most persecuted minorities in the region.
On October 1, a 17-year old Hindu girl, who was allegedly raped a year earlier, had committed suicide in Pakistan‘s Tharparkar district after she was reportedly blackmailed by the accused who was out on bail.
In another case in Karachi, a 13-year-old Christian girl, Arzoo Raja, was abducted allegedly by Ali Azhar, a 44-year-old man, who forced her to convert to Islam and married her. (ANI)
