Now Reading: Zardari claims Pakistan Hindus prefer staying, not India
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Zardari claims Pakistan Hindus prefer staying, not India
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari claimed Hindus in Pakistan “would rather be with us than India” while accusing Indians of believing in “Akhand Bharat”. He spoke at a 14 August Independence Day…
The Story in Brief
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari claimed Hindus in Pakistan “would rather be with us than India” while accusing Indians of believing in “Akhand Bharat”. He spoke at a 14 August Independence Day gathering. Zardari said Pakistan’s 4% Hindu population is “as free as anywhere else”.
Times Now reported that Pakistan’s Hindu and Sikh minorities, once 15-20% of the population at partition, have shrunk to 3-4% due to persecution and forced conversions. Separately, PM Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad wants peace but warned against interpreting it as weakness. He also accused India of illegally suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, calling water a “red line”.
The Indian Opinion
Zardari’s claim that Hindus choose Pakistan over India ignores the steep decline of the minority from 15-20% to 4% since partition, a fact Times Now flags. Both sides use such rhetoric to rally domestic audiences. A concrete test: watch for any independent census or survey that measures minority sentiment in Pakistan. The numbers, not the statements, will settle who feels free where.
Sources (2): nationalheraldindia.com, timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
