‘Jodhpur incident’: Indian govt asked to provide access to surviving member of ill-fated family

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi has asked the Indian government for provision of access to the surviving member of the bereaved family of “Jodhpur incident” whose 11 family members of Pakistani Hindus were found dead in mysterious circumstances in Jodhpur on August 9, 2019.

This was stated by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a meeting with Patron-in-Chief of Pakistan Hindu Council and Member National Assembly D Ramesh Kumar, who called on him here at his office to discuss the “Jodhpur incident”.

Besides access to surviving member of the bereaved family of “Jodhpur incident”, the foreign minister said the High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi had also asked the government of India for sharing of copies of the FIR and initial investigation report and facilitating the presence of the High Commission for Pakistan’s representatives during the post-mortem of the deceased persons.

Eleven Pakistani Hindus, including children, were found dead under mysterious circumstances in village Lodta. Haridasot, district Jodhpur, in the Indian state of Rajasthan on August 9, 2019.

Dr Kumar apprised the foreign minister about the anxiety in the Pakistani Hindus over the incident.

He shared that the daughter of the deceased head of the family, Shrimati Mukhi had filed an FIR in Sanghar on the incident, nominating the RSS and the BJP for involvement in the murder of her family members.

He also informed the foreign minister that as per Ms Mukhi, her father, mother and other family members were murdered after they refused to spy on Pakistan and issue anti-Pakistan statements at the behest of Indian intelligence agency RAW.

The foreign minister informed Dr Kumar that Pakistan had taken up the issue forcefully with the Indian side through diplomatic channels both in Islamabad as well as in New Delhi.

Immediately after the incident, the High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi had asked the government of India for provision of access to the surviving member of the bereaved family, sharing of copies of the FIR and initial investigation report and facilitating the presence of the High Commission for Pakistan’s representatives during the post-mortem of the deceased persons.

The foreign minister assured Dr Kumar that safety and security of all its nationals was the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan.

He added that since the victims of the “Jodhpur incident” were Pakistan nationals, it was incumbent upon the Government of Pakistan to be fully aware of the circumstances under which its nationals died in India.

Appreciating the efforts made by the Government of Pakistan in seeking justice for the victims of “Jodhpur incident”, Dr Kumar informed that the Hindu community would take further necessary steps to register its strong protest against the highly-condemnable incident and the continuing failure of the Indian government to carry out a transparent and credible investigation to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to justice.

The foreign minister assured Dr Kumar that Pakistan would continue urging the Government of India to provide the requisite information without further delay and carry out a comprehensive investigation into the matter and share its findings with the government of Pakistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020