Hindu Council slams smear campaign against Dr Ramesh

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) has reacted to ongoing character assassination campaign against its Patron-in-chief Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani and hinted to take legal action against people portraying themselves as minority representatives at the behest of the Evacuee Trust Properties Board (ETPB).

In a statement issued on Friday, the council said the patriotic Hindu community across the country values the selfless contributions of Dr Vankwani to ensure the protection of holy places. "The problems of the non-Muslim minority community in Pakistan are directly related to the incompetence of the ETPB," the statement said. The council believes that the ETPB management is behind the character assassination campaign against Dr Vankwani. “To fulfil its vested interests, the ETPB management is trying to create mistrust among Hindu and Sikh communities under the cover of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (PSGPC) and other dubious organizations,” the statements said.

The PSGPC, according to the council, was established by the Evacuee Trust Property Board in 1999 and, therefore, its status is not more than a puppet institute under the direct control of the ETPB with no credibility among the Sikh community. "Even the ETPB management doesn't consider the PSGPC capable enough to look after the affairs related to the Kartarpur Corridor," the council said, adding that Sikh pilgrims have also reservations over managing the Kartarpur Corridor by the Project Management Unit of the ETPB.

The PSGPC has tried to exploit the name of former president of Pakistan Hindu Council Chela Ram Kewlwani unjustifiably for mala fide intentions. However, Chela Ram has clarified that Pakistan's patriotic Hindu community is united under the leadership of Dr Vankwani. Chela Ram termed allegations against Dr Vankwani fabricated. "Being an elected president of the Pakistan Hindu Council, I, with the consultation of Dr Ramesh Kumar, raised voice to demand appointment of former chief justice Rana Bhagwan Das as chairman of the ETPB, seven years ago in 2014" he said while debunking the allegation that Dr Vankwani himself is interested to become chairman ETPB. He said that in this regard, newspapers and media coverage dated October 12, 2014 could be analysed.

The Pakistan Hindu Council believes that the ETPB is trying to cover up its incompetence through dummy minority representatives, but Pakistan's sensible Hindu community is united on the platform of the Pakistan Hindu Council. " Dr Vankwani 's sincere struggle is to promote harmony among all religions by ensuring equal civic rights for non-Muslim minorities under the Quaid-i-Azam's vision and the Charter of Madina," the statement emphasized. The PHC termed the so-called minority representatives participating in a recent press conference at the behest of the ETPB as touts of the Qabza mafia.

"Dubious representatives have nothing to do with the Hindu community," the statement said. The Pakistan Hindu Council has also given them an ultimatum to immediately apologize for making baseless allegations, otherwise the council, for correcting the facts about its patron-in-chief, reserves the right to take legal action.