KARACHI, May 31, Reuter: Fakistani Moslem demonstrators protesting against communal riots in India burned Indian flags and effigies of the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Central Karachi.
Earlier, troops were sent to Hyderabad town in the southern province of Sind after Moslems attacked Hindus and set temples ablaze in revenge for Moslem deaths in the recent Indian riots.
Pakistani Prime Minister Mohammad Khan Junejo, who is visiting Sind, appealed today for calm.
More than 200 demonstrators divided in three groups chanted anti-Indian slogans and burned three Gandhi effigies and two flags in a shopping Centre in Karachi, capital of Sind Province.
Organizers said the demonstration was held to protest at what they called “genocide” of Indian Moslems.
Junejo, in a speech near the central Sind town of Sanghar, appealed to people “not to be
swayed by emotions but exercise patience”, the official APP news agency reported.
In the first official Pakistani comment on the riots, he said it was the duty of the Indian government to protect the Moslems and look after their legitimate interests.
A government statement said peace committees had helped to bring the situation to normal in Hyderabad, a predominantly Moslem town.
Police said at least four Hindus were wounded and three temples, two shops and other Hindu properties set on fire or vandalised.
The riots started after Mohajirs, Moslem migrants from India, urged people to mark the Moslem Eid AlFitr festival by wearing black armbands and flying black flags to mourn the death of Moslems in India.
Hindu Moslem riots in Meerut and Delhi killed 125 people during the past two weeks.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 5, 1987
