Former Pak lawmaker seeks asylum

laxmi@tribune.com

Gurminder Singh Grewal

Khanna, September 10

Alleging threat to life, a former lawmaker from Pakistan PM’s Tehreek-e-Insaf has sought asylum in India. Baldev Kumar (43), residing with his in-laws here along with his wife Bhawna and two children, arrived in India a month ago. He holds a visa till November. 

Baldev said the minorities in Pakistan lived in constant fear. “Recently, a Sikh girl in Punjab was forcibly converted to Islam. Such incidents are also happening in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

I request Modi sahib to help us. We feel secure here (in India). We don’t want to go back,” said Baldev, who lost the nomination race for the Barikot (reserved) seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2016. 

He alleged he was falsely implicated in the murder of lawmaker Soran Singh. In jail for two years, he was acquitted and let off.

According to Pakistan law, if a lawmaker dies, the candidate on the second spot of the priority list of the ruling party (in case of minority reserved seats) takes his position. “I was legislator for only 36 hours.” 

Baldev said they had hoped that with Imran Khan coming to power, the plight of minorities in Pakistan would improve. “But in Pakistan, the Army and ISI are too strong. Imran Khan is helpless. Khan Sahib was talking about new Pakistan, but the old Pakistan was much better,” Baldev said, adding 

his brothers in Pakistan and other Sikh and Hindu families also wanted to migrate to India.