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The recent surge in target killing and kidnapping has forced the Hindu families to seek asylum in India, belying the Balochistan and Sindh government’s claim to have restored law and order in the province. In Sindh province the situation is also the same, recently Mr. Ram Singh Sodho MPA from Pakistan Muslim League (Q) resigned from the Sindh assembly. Sodho a lawyer by profession was elected MPA ( Member Provincial Assembly) for the first time in 1985 and has been every active in Politics, he is seeking asylum in India due to life threats.
Threats to Punjabis and non-Muslims are on the rise. The abduction of 85-year-old Hindu priest Maharaj Sain Lakmee Geer, who had been holding this religious office since 1946 in Balochistan, has left the Hindu families with no option but to migrate to India.

"As many as 27 Hindu families from Balochistan have sent applications to the Indian embassy for asylum," disclosed the regional director for the federal Ministry of Human Rights, Saeed Ahmed Khan.
The abduction of four Hindus, including an octogenarian Hindu spiritual leader, last month has infused fear among the Hindu community living in Balochistan that has sparked angry protests from the community members across Quetta. While three Hindus were kidnapped from Khuzdar and Jafarabad, their spiritual leader was abducted while he was on his way from Kalat to Khuzdar district on Dec 22, 2010.
Over 100 groups involved in kidnappings for ransom are operating in Balochistan. The incidents of kidnapping have taken a serious turn since the province witnessed a sharp increase in the kidnappings of Hindu community people including its religious leaders and traders.

As many as 86 cases of kidnapping have been registered in 2010 compared to 43 in 2009. There is an aura of terror hovering over the city. As far the interior Balochistan is concerned, majority of the kidnapping cases are not lodged due to the "rough" attitude of Levies, a sort of tribal police, and partly due to ignorance of the people about legal formalities.
The Hindu community people are compelled to lodge strong protest in the province. The protesters raised slogans "provide us protection or allow us to migrate". Dozens of people belonging to the Hindu community gathered outside the Quetta Press Club last week to voice their concern.
Since the kidnapping of their spiritual leader, the Hindu community is protesting and demanding the Balochistan government recover the four kidnapped Hindu victims and provide them security in the province.
"We have taken up the issue in several meetings with the Balochistan government and the provincial assembly but our spiritual leader has not been recovered as yet," says Jay Parkash, who is a minister in the Nawab Aslam Raisani-led coalition government, "If the incidents of kidnapping are not stopped then the Hindu businessmen would be left with no other option but to migrate from the province."

The minority Hindu community has also organised protests in Khuzdar, Kalat, Naushki and provincial capital Quetta and blocked the National Highway and RCD Highway on Wednesday.
Kailash, a Hindu trader, said the government has failed to protect the life and property of the people, particularly the minorities. The Hindu Panchayat also organized a protest demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club demanding early recovery of the kidnapped spiritual leader.
Hindus have been living in Balochistan for centuries, providing various services in a number of cities of the country where their ancestors settled. Many Hindus preferred at the time of partition to go to India while several thousands chose to stay in the province.

Over 100,000 Hindus in Balochistan, who were guaranteed protection and freedom in the previous tribal system, are feeling insecure these days. Uncle of Vinod Kumar, another kidnapped victim, said Hindus have been living in Balochistan for centuries and have contributed to the richness of the province. "Now it appears that the right of living and livelihood is being snatched from us."
The police authorities claimed to have widened the scope of investigations to recover the kidnapped victims. "We are scrutinizing all possibilities for the early recovery of the Hindu priest," IG Police Balochistan Malik Muhammad Iqbal. He adds that anti-kidnapping cells have been established in all the districts of the province, besides establishing pickets at Sindh-Balochistan border to bust the gangs involved in kidnappings.

Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo of the National Party condemned the kidnapping, saying his party is against all kinds of kidnapping and target killings. The Balochistan Assembly has already taken up the issue, condemning the kidnapping of Hindus and others.
Hafiz Hamdullah, deputy secretary-general of JUI-F, said that his party has launched a massive campaign against target killings and kidnappings in Balochistan.
The worsening law and order has also taken its toll on business activities in the province. "Our businesses have collapsed due to lawlessness in Quetta and the government is oblivious of the gravity of the situation," says a businessman of Quetta, Haji Ashiq Achakzai.
The city’s resilience is wearing thin, but people are carrying on as best as they can, hoping against all odds that someday, sometime, things will improve.
XAVIER PATRAS WILLIAM
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