Hindus are considered sub-humans in Pakistan. The ‘Aman ki Asha’ left-liberal lobby in Bharat managed to sweep this ugly reality about Pakistani society under the carpet all these years, but the truth is now oozing out in the digital age.

During a Dunya TV news program “On The Front” on March 17, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Shahbaz Gill launched a disgusting tirade at PTI Member National Assembly (MNA) Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani. The utter malice and contempt for the Hindu parliamentarian was clearly visible on Gill’s face even though most of the crass abuses are muted in the various clips of this program that are doing the rounds on social media.

Words like dalla (pimp), bezameer (without a conscience), shakal dekhi hai (‘have you seen your face’ – a favorite of racist Pakistanis who pride themselves on being descendants of fairer Arabs and Persians vis a vis ‘darker’ Hindus native to the subcontinent) could be heard being repeatedly hurled at Dr. Vankwani who remained dignified in his response throughout and could hardly get a word in as Gill spoke like a feudal lord threateningly addressing his landless laborer. The anchor Kamran Shahid said nothing to control Gill’s tirade and was even seen smiling at one point.

In a longer version of the video, heavily edited, Gill starts by calling Dr. Vankwani a ‘corrupt person’ and when the latter protests, Gill shouts “baat sun” (listen to me) and derogatorily says that the only reason Dr. Vankwani won from a minority seat was due to Imran Khan.

Dr. Vankwani asks the anchor to not include him in the show when Gill is there, saying that one needs patience and sobriety to be in politics and he he does not come from a culture where hurling abuses is common. He maintains that Khan ‘saheb’ is a ‘good person’ but he has poor advisers. He denies having had any meeting in Punjab, and says Imran Khan had approached him for the election. At this, Gill laughs sneeringly and shouts “tere jaise bezameer aadmi ko ticket de baithe the…tu bezameer aadmi hai, teri saans phoola hua hai, bezameer..” (you are a conscience-less person, you are out of breath). Finally unable to take this verbal assault anymore, Dr. Vankwani cuts the call. The anchor Kamran Shahid continues his program with Gill ‘saheb’ as if nothing happened.

Dr. Vankwani is a group of around 24 dissident lawmakers from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf who have taken refuge in the Sindh House in Islamabad, saying they feared security at the Parliament Lodges, especially after the March 10 episode against other MNAs of the opposition.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has issued a statement condemning Shahbaz Gill’s abusive tirade against Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani and also called out Dunya News anchor Kamran Shahid for not stopping Gill.

“HRCP is revolted by politician Shahbaz Gill’s crass choice of words for his colleague Ramesh Kumar on national television. What should have been a civilised debate on a politically critical issue crumbled into a litany of abuse. This in no way represents freedom of expression and anchor Kamran Shahid should not have brushed the abuse aside as ‘Mr Gill’s temper’. With the media already hemmed in on so many fronts, we cannot afford to let the office of the editor and anchor become bait rather than direction,” read the statement issued by the HRCP.

Voting on a no-confidence motion against Pakistan PM Imran Khan is expected on March 28.

Shahbaz Gill tried to justify his crass abuse by claiming, “In Punjab, a woman whose husband dies is called ‘randi’ and the man is called ‘randwa’. A friend of mine in Karachi (Sindh) said that (‘randi’) is an abuse. In English, what you call broker is called dalal in Punjabi.” Gill’s supporters could be seen laughing in the background while he was giving this ‘explanation’ to journalists.

This is how normalized Hindu-hate is in Pakistan. When a parliamentarian can be abused and brow-beaten in this manner, is it any wonder that the overwhelming majority of Pakistani society is hardly bothered by the cries of Hindu families whose daughters are abducted at gun point and thrown into a life of unimaginable hell?

This is why the words of Sindhi social activist Asad Chandio ring true, ““Pakistan is a Nazi state…forced conversion of Hindu girls is not a crime for average Muslim.” And the same attitude exists in a significant section of Indian Muslim society, especially the Ashrafi class who trace their supremacy back to foreign invaders.