Tag: Pakistan Hindu

PepsiCo Responds to R.E.A.L. on Pakistan Human Rights

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) did hear back from one company on the U.S.-Pakistan Business Council regarding our concerns on the human rights abuses of Pakistan Hindus and Christians — Pepsi Cola. R.E.A.L.’s initial message, and Pepsi’s response is provided below.

Please express your appreciation to PepsiCo by letting them know you appreciate their stand on human rights.

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R.E.A.L.’s Message to PepsiCo:

Pepsi-Cola Public Relations –
My name is Jeffrey Imm, I am a human rights activist. Pepsi is on the board of directors of the U.S.-Pakistan Business Council promoting business in Pakistan. Human rights activists have been expressing their concern about the growing human rights abuses against Hindus and Christians in Pakistan, including forced marriage and forced religious conversion of Hindu and Christian girls. This is against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Pakistan constitution. We are looking to see if your company is willing to make a positive statement in support of human rights for all people, including Hindu and Christian girls in Pakistan.

We are holding a public rally in support of univesal human rights for all on Saturday, April 14 in Washington DC. If you have such a statement, we would be glad to share this with the public.

Thank you.

Jeffrey Imm
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) human rights coalition

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PepsiCo responds:

“Dear Jeffrey,

Thank you for contacting us to share your concerns about human rights abuses.

As a global corporation, PepsiCo strongly supports fundamental human rights for all people, and we commend the efforts of all those who are working to protect those rights around the world. In our own businesses, we have a very clear global policy on human rights in the workplace (which is communicated annually to our associates in more than 20 languages), and we do not tolerate any infringement or abuse of human rights. In addition, we are a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, which also guarantees human rights in the workplace.

We agree that the protection of human rights around the world requires constant vigilance on the part of international organizations and human rights coalitions such as yours. Please know that we will continue to do our part to strengthen and promote that commitment.

Thanks again for writing.

Kind regards,
Asheley
Consumer Relations Representative”

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THANK YOU PEPSICO!

Thank You Pepsi - for Your Commitment to Global Human Rights!

DC: Saturday April 14 Rally for Pakistan Hindu and Christian Rights

On Saturday, April 14,  a rally will be held in support of human rights and dignity for Hindus and Christians in Pakistan.  The event will be from 1:30 to 3:30 PM at 1615 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20062 – in front of the U.S.-Pakistan Business Council and across the street from Lafayette Square Park.  It is a short walking distance from either the Farragut West or Farragut North Metro subway stops.  The part of H Street we will be on will be between 16th St NW and 17 St NW, however, the closest intersection will be H Street and Connecticut Ave/Jackson Place.

U.S.-Pakistan Business Council, 1615 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20062

The coalition supports our Universal Human Rights for all people, including freedom of conscience for all people in every part of the world.

Organizations represented will include: Pakistan Christian Congress, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.), American Friends of Balochistan, and other activist groups and individual human rights activists.  R.E.A.L. has submitted an Assembly Notification to the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.

The coalition objects to the efforts to deny universal human rights and dignity to religious minorities in Pakistan. As reported by human rights groups, there are hundreds of abductions and forced conversion cases of Hindus and Christian women every year in Pakistan which go unreported.

You can find out more on these issues at the Pakistan Hindu Post and Pakistan Christian Post.

Recent news has reported on a Hindu family reporting the kidnapping of a 19 year old Hindu girl in Sindh, Rinkle Kumari, who was forced to convert from her religion. The Hindu American Foundation has reported on this as well and the Pakistan Hindu Post issued an online petition to U.S. Secretary of State Clinton, for those concerned about human rights to sign, calling for the U.S. Government to intervene on behalf of Hindu girls kidnapped and forced to deny their religious beliefs.

According to the BBC report, “Human rights activists say that other reported abductions of members of minority communities in Pakistan, which is overwhelmingly Muslim, have not been properly investigated by the authorities.”   The Pakistan Tribune also reports on Hindu and Christian girls who have been forcibly converted to Islam.

The Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) coalition calls for the universal human rights of all people, including their freedom, their freedom of conscience, and their right to human dignity. We urge the Government, courts, and the people of Pakistan to act immediately to end abuse of religious minorities, to stop and punish the ongoing kidnappings, and to stop and punish those who would forcibly deny anyone their universal human right of religious freedom and freedom of conscience.

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Event Logistics

Date: Saturday, April 14

Time:  1:30 to 3:30 PM

Location: on the sidewalk area outside 1615 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20062 – in front of the U.S.-Pakistan Business Council and across the street from Lafayette Square Park.  The part of H Street we will be on will be between 16th St NW and 17 St NW, however, the closest intersection will be H Street and Connecticut Ave/Jackson Place.  There is a Starbucks coffee shop near H Street and 18th St NW at 801 18th Street.

Subway / Travel: It is a short walking distance from either the Farragut West or Farragut North Metro subway stops.

Walking Directions from Farragut West Metro
FARRAGUT WEST METRO STATION to H ST NW:
Exit station through 18TH & I (EYE) ST NW entrance.
Walk approx. 2 blocks E on I St NW.
Turn right on Connecticut Ave NW.
Walk approx. 1 block S on Connecticut Ave NW.

Walking Directions from Farragut North Metro
FARRAGUT NORTH METRO STATION to H ST NW:
Exit station through CONNECTICUT AVE & K ST NW entrance.
Walk a short distance S on Connecticut Ave NW.
Bear left on Unnamed.
Walk approx. 1 block SE on Unnamed.
Turn left on I St NW.
Walk a short distance E on I St NW.
Turn right on Connecticut Ave NW.
Walk approx. 1 block S on Connecticut Ave NW.

The part of H Street we will be on will be between 16th St NW and 17 St NW, however, the closest intersection will be H Street and Connecticut Ave/Jackson Place.

Driving and Other Directions and Parking from U.S. Chamber of Commerce Website

Via Metro:

Orange/Blue Line

Get off at the Farragut West Stop
Exit onto 17th Street
Walk towards the Park Place Gourmet (down I Street)
Take a right onto Connecticut Avenue one block to H Street, make a left
U.S. Chamber is on your left (Corner of Connecticut and H Streets)

Red Line

Get off at the Farragut North Stop
Exit onto K Street
Walk across K Street to Farragut Park
Walk south across the park toward the White House
At the Corner of Connecticut and I Streets walk 1 block south to H Street, make a left
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Building will be on your left (Corner of Connecticut and H Streets)

From Virginia:

From 95

Take 95 North (stay in left lane) across the 14th Street Bridge
Stay on 14th Street until I Street
Left on I Street
Left on Connecticut Avenue
Left on H Street
U.S. Chamber of Commerce will be on your left (Parking on I Street)

From Fairfax/Falls Church Area

Take I-66 East to Constitution Avenue
Left on 17th Street
Right on H Street
U.S. Chamber of Commerce will be on your left

From Maryland:

From Silver Spring Area (495) Take 16th Street to DC

Right on I Street
Left on Connecticut Avenue
Left on H Street
U.S. Chamber of Commerce will be on your left on corner (Parking on I Street)

From Bethesda Area

Take Connecticut Avenue to DC
Connecticut turns into 17th Street
Left on H Street
U.S. Chamber will be on your left (Parking on H Street)

From Southern Maryland Area

Take South Capital Street
Left on Independence
Right on 3rd Street
Left on Pennsylvania Avenue
Right on 15th Street
Left on I Street
Left on Connecticut Avenue
Left on H Street
U.S. Chamber will be on the corner (Parking on I Street)

From Baltimore Washington Parkway

Take New York Avenue exit West (Route 50) toward DC
Left on 6th Street (Route 1)
Right on Pennsylvania Avenue
Right on 15th Street
Left on I Street
Left on Connecticut Avenue
Left on H Street
U.S. Chamber of Commerce will be on the corner (Parking on I Street)

Parking Research

For those driving, note that some garages are not open on Saturday.
I have found the following nearby Parking garages state they have Saturday hours:
— COLONIAL Parking. 1620 I St NW (bet. 16th St NW-17th St NW) – 202-295-8200  – I talked to them and confirmed this on the phone
— MID-TOWN Parking. 1750 K St NW (bet. 17th St NW-18th St NW) — NOTE: they close at 4 PM. 202-775-8819 – I talked to them and confirmed this on the phone
— CENTRAL Parking System. 1625 I St NW (bet. 16th St NW-17th St NW)
— I am also told there is another COLONIAL Parking lot at 1775 I St NW (bet. 17th St NW-18th St NW) – I spoke to a COLONIAL Parking attendant on the telephone that says it is open, but the Internet site for it says that it is not open

Pakistan Hindu Post: Persecution of Hindus in Pakistan and Pakistan Pilgrims to India

Pakistan Hindu Post reports on Pakistan Hindus “hounded” in Pakistan and Pakistani Hindu Pilgrims persecution in India

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports our universal human rights of religious freedom and worship for ALL.

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‘Hounded’ Hindus take shelter in Karachi cattle pen after drinking water from mosque, Pakistan

Karachi : In an incident which showcases the brutal hatred with which Hindus are seen in Pakistan, at least 60 members of the minority community, including women and children, were forced to abandon their house in Karachi’s Memon Goth area just because a Hindu boy drank water from a cooler outside a mosque.

Local tribesman, who hold a good clout in the area, thrashed several Hindus forcing them to run away and take shelter in a near by cattle pen, The News reports.

“All hell broke loose when my son, Dinesh, who looked after chickens in a farm, drank water from a cooler outside a mosque. Upon seeing him do that, the people of the area started beating him up,” said Meerumal, a resident of the area.

“Later, around 150 tribesmen attacked us, injuring seven of our people, who were taken to the Jinnah Hospital,” he added.

One of the injured, Heera, said that another 400 families of the area were also being threatened to leave their households and settle elsewhere.

“Our people are even scared of going out of their houses. We are also putting up with living in the filthy pen because we cannot go home for fear of being killed,” Heera said.

Police officials are aware about the incident, but they have failed to take any steps to stop the atrocities being meted out to theminority community.

“A trivial incident led to riots between the people of the area. Since both the communities happened to be illiterate, the matter just flared up,” said Memon Goth Station House Officer (SHO).

Meanwhile, Minority Affairs Minister Dr Mohan Lal has assured Hindus of full government protection.

“I have directed the DPO and the SHO to ensure that these people go back to their houses safely,” Lal said.

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Rajasthan : India is known for her hospitality, but we are sorry to say that our experience with the officials here is nothing short of a nightmare,” says Satya Ramprakash, a member of a 65-member Hindu pilgrim group that has come from Pakistan.

The group wanted to visit various places of religious importance to the Hindus, but so harried it is that many of them are planning to dump the tour midway and return to Pakistan.

The 65-member group left Sindh in Pakistan on June 18 for India on a month-long pilgrimage. They arrived in Jodhpur the very next day and their trauma began then and there. Rules are such that besides registering with the local police, they have to have a guarantor in each city they visit. Their local guarantor at Jodhpur, Acharya Gopal, washed off his hands of their onward journey, once they reached there.

“Despite valid visa, we had to go to the court to file an affidavit, stating that we are from Pakistan and have come to India on a pilgrimage. We sought residential permit so that we could stay at some places during our month-long tour. It took us as many as eight days to complete the formality,” said Nagji Thakor, a person of Gujarati origin who lives at Virpur village in Sindh province.

“Since we could not check into any hotel, we had to spend our days at courts and offices and nights at railway station,” he added. That the group had many elderly persons and women did not move the officials.

However, they expressed their gratitude to local people. “People are friendly. They have helped us and guided us. It is the set of rules that has balked us. If you have such rules what is the fun in running Samjhauta Express?” said Sardara Prajapati.

He pointed out that many groups have travelled to India in the past, but they did not face such problems.

The group arrived in Ahmedabad on Sunday and ran into the “Bharat bandh” on Monday. After wasting a day, they went to the police commissioner’s office in Shahibaug on Tuesday morning. It took the entire day for them to register themselves.

“The recent change in rules and procedure has sapped our spirit and energy. Registration that should take a few hours is taking days and instead of praying at shrines we are spending time in courts and offices,” Goswami Bhairopriya Maharaj who is from Dingan village in Sindh.

“Many are contemplating going back to Pakistan. I am not sure how many of us will continue with the tour,” he added.

The group’s next stop is Radhanpur in north Gujarat. Their itinerary included visiting 150 small and big religious places across India during the 28-day tour. Some of the important places included Jodhpur, Barmer, Ahmedabad, Radhanpur, Mathura and Hardwar. They entered India in Samjhauta Express via Attari in Punjab.

Belowares URL links from Pakistan Hindu Post –

‘Hounded’ Hindus take shelter in Karachi cattle pen after drinking water from mosque, Pakistan

Hindu Pilgrims from Pakistan spend days in courts, offices instead of shrines in India

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