In Sindh, police killing of Muslim doctor accused of ‘blasphemy’ casts pall over Diwali festivities
Hindu residents of Umerkot are ‘living in a state of terror that a single mistake or slip of the tongue could cost them their lives’.
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The brutal killing in mid-September by the Pakistani police of Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar, a physician accused of “blasphemy” in Umerkot in Sindh, cast a pall of fear in this Hindu-majority district on the border with India ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.
Preparations for Diwali in this historic area known for its interfaith harmony typically begin a month ahead of the festival, which symbolises the victory of good over evil. Hundreds of shops sell fireworks, sweets, festive clothing and other items.
Although cases have been registered for the murder and many suspects taken into custody, only two fireworks shops opened here this year – with no customers. The shopkeepers refused to comment. It is a “sensitive” issue.
Hindus form just over half the district’s 1.15 million population, according to the 2023 census. But if a respected Muslim physician, one of the top ten in his class at medical college, someone who ran free health clinics for the poor, could be accused of “blasphemy” and killed by police, it makes members of the minority community feel even more vulnerable.
For Hindus, such accusations are “like a sword dangling on their heads, and many felt that they could be ‘next’”, wrote development expert Masood Lohar in Dawn.
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