Hindu activist attacked by unknown men for opposing persecution of Hindus in Pakistan

Case ID : d326d79 | Location : Matiari, Sindh, Pakistan | Date of Incident : Thu, 1 January, 2026

Case ID : d326d79

Matiari, Sindh, Pakistan

1 January, 2026

Hindu activist attacked by unknown men for opposing persecution of Hindus in Pakistan

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Attacked for supporting/being part of perceived Hindu party/org or working for Hindu community

Case Summary

In Matiari, Sindh province of Pakistan, a Hindu activist and former journalist, Gangu Mal, was attacked by unknown gunmen. The victim was targeted for raising his voice against the religious persecution of Hindu minorities in Pakistan. According to reports, the victim was injured in the attack and was admitted to Hyderabad Civil Hospital and later transferred to a private hospital. Gangu Mal, a permanent resident of Thano Bolakhan, a backward area in Jamshoro District, was residing in Matiari city where he ran a pesticide shop. The attackers entered his shop, attacked Gangu Mal, and subjected him to torture, resulting in injuries. Concerned citizens intervened to save Gangu Mal, prompting the attackers to escape after firing shots. The victim was subsequently shifted to Hyderabad Civil Hospital, where doctors reported fractured arms, head injuries (which were stitched), and leg injuries. Following this, the victim held a press conference at Hyderabad Press Club with Suraj Kumar Kohistani, Chairman of Sindh Hindu Council, stating that a town chairman was responsible for the attack. Kohistani strongly condemned the incident, urging the immediate registration of a First Information Report for the assault on Gangu Mal. The victim also revealed that he had posted on Facebook about the challenges facing the Hindu community in Thano Bolakhan, leading to displeasure among influential individuals in the area who also sent him threatening messages. He noted that the assailants were masked, preventing him from identifying them. Gangu Mal also expressed frustration over the police’s lack of action on his complaint, even after three days, emphasising the non-registration of a First Information Report for the attack. Following this, he appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan for protection and justice. Notably, Hyderabad Mayor Kashif Shoro, political figure Malik Genghis Khan, and several individuals visited Gangumal at the hospital. This case highlights the persistent persecution faced by the Hindu minorities in Pakistan, marked by systemic discrimination, violence, and forced conversions. Hindu women, particularly young girls, are often abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off to Muslim men with little to no legal recourse. Temples are frequently vandalised or destroyed, and Hindu communities are subjected to social and economic marginalisation. Blasphemy laws are disproportionately used against Hindus, leading to false accusations and severe punishments. Many Hindu families are forced to flee their homes due to religious intolerance, living in constant fear of attacks. This sustained persecution highlights the dire conditions for Hindus in Pakistan, where their religious identity makes them targets of oppression.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category selected in this case is- Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The other subcategory selected is- Attacked for supporting/being part of perceived Hindu party/org or working for Hindu community. In several cases, Hindus are attacked specifically or tangentially for their association with parties or organisations perceived to be pro-Hindu and/or for working in favour of the Hindu community. One of the classic cases was the attack against a Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha (BJYM) worker Praveen Nettaru. Nettaru was attacked and hacked to death for his association with Hindu organizations and his work for the Hindu community. He was murdered by PFI, a terror organization which aimed to commit a genocide of Hindus, target Hindu leaders specifically and turn India into an Islamic Nation. In such cases, it is possible that the immediate trigger for the violence is non-religious – either according to the perpetrator or the police. However, there are surrounding circumstances from which the conclusion can be reached that the victim was attacked for his association with a Hindu organization. In a similar case, Rinku Sharma was attacked by radicals. He was a member of Bajrang Dal and regularly worked for the Hindu community. While the police cited a different non-religious trigger for the attack, it is true that he was associated to a Hindu organization and the family of Rinku Sharma specifically attributed his gruesome murder to him working for Bajrang Dal and raising Jai Shree Ram slogans. Such cases are intrinsically driven by religious hate and would therefore be documented as a hate crime under this category. This case is a clear instance of a religiously motivated crime as the Hindu victim was attacked for spreading awareness and talking about religious persecution of Hindus in Pakistan. Hindus are Pakistan's most vulnerable community. They face religiously motivated attacks because of their faith. The Muslim majority holds strong animosity against them. Hindus suffer routine persecution in Pakistan through targeted killings, mob attacks, temple desecrations, forced conversions, rape, and forced marriages of Hindu women and minor girls to Muslim men. This amounts to clear religiously motivated attacks on the Hindu community. The Hindu victim confronted such oppression head-on. Unidentified gunmen unleashed physical brutality against him solely for this defiance. His punishment for challenging Muslim radicals and exposing Hindu suffering underscores the attack's religious motivation. Hindus who fight for their people's rights face vicious attacks linked directly to their faith. This exposes the hate crime's religiously motivated nature. In Pakistan, attackers driven by anti-Hindu rage hunt down vocal defenders of the minority community, particularly Hindus. This deepens fear in the Hindu community. This victim's dedication to Hindu welfare and public stand against their suffering drew the attackers to him. It sparked his brutal beating. His role as an activist speaking for Pakistan's Hindus became his crime. This fuelled violence rooted in religious hatred. The victim stated that as soon as he posted on Facebook about Hindu persecution, influential people in the area sent him threatening messages. This shows that speaking about Hindu persecution brought him not just physical assault, but also threats and intimidation. Targeting a Hindu for raising his voice against atrocities against his community amounts to a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime. It aims to silence Hindu voices completely. The police's inaction reveals systemic persecution of Hindus in Pakistan. Authorities ignore Hindus who suffer persecution or fall victim to religiously motivated crimes. Such neglect marks a clear instance of institutionalised anti-Hindu animosity. In this case, even though the identity of the perpetrators remains unknown, the act stems from religious animosity towards the Hindu community. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurs, not when the media reports it. In this case, media reports do not specify the exact crime date. Even the media report date remains unspecified. The outlet labels it "latest news," and since the Hinduphobia Tracker received it on 1st January 2026, this date is being recorded as the indicative incident date. In this case, unknown gunmen served as the main perpetrators. However, the victim stated that the town's chairman orchestrated the attack. Since the exact number of gunmen remains unspecified and the chairman has been named, the perpetrator count has been recorded as '1'. This is a conservative estimate recorded for documentation purposes only.