Dalit Hindu community, including children, brutally attacked by armed Muslim mob in Pakistan
Umerkot District, Sindh, Pakistan 
23 September, 2025
Case Summary
In Kunri, Umerkot of Sindh province, Pakistan, members of the Hindu Kolhi community, a Dalit Hindu community, were subjected to a brutal attack by armed Muslim men from the Khaskheli community. As per reports, the armed Muslim mob forcefully entered the homes of Hindu Kolhi families and assaulted residents, including women and children, using batons and axes. Several victims sustained serious injuries, and numerous families were left traumatised by the violence. Bullet casings were found at the site, indicating the severity of the assault. The local police failed to intervene and instead shielded the attackers. Police allowed the attack to continue unabated, leaving the Hindu community feeling abandoned and defenceless. Human rights activists condemned the inaction of the police and demanded an immediate and impartial investigation into the incident. This incident is yet another stark reminder of the oppression and atrocities Hindu minorities face in Pakistan, marked by systemic discrimination, violence, and forced conversions. Hindus, particularly women and 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 ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Attack not resulting in death. The sub-category selected is - Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The other subcategory selected is- Communal Clash/ Attack. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. This case has been added to the tracker because members of the Hindu Kolhi community were brutally attacked by armed Muslims from the Khaskheli community. Firstly, it is important to state that the attack occurred in Pakistan, where the Hindu minority consistently faces systemic and targeted persecution due to their religious identity. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that in this case, the victims were attacked specifically because of their vulnerable status as members of a marginalised religious community- Hindus. The broader context of persistent anti-Hindu discrimination in Sindh strongly suggests that their religious identity played a central role in this violence. Moreover, this pattern is frequently witnessed in Pakistan, where Hindu communities are subjected to disproportionate and targeted violence over trivial incidents or minor triggers. Furthermore, the fact that the violence was targeted and selectively launched against the Hindu community alone demonstrates that the perpetrators harboured animosity towards the victims’ faith, making it a case of religiously motivated violence against Hindus. This incident aligns with a longstanding and well-documented pattern in Pakistan, where Hindu minorities have faced systemic discrimination, targeted violence, forced conversions, and displacement. Attacks on Hindu homes and temples, abductions of Hindu girls, and social and economic boycotts have been regular occurrences in several regions of Sindh. The attack in Kunri fits within this broader framework of persecution, where state institutions, including local police, often turn a blind eye or actively support acts of violence against Hindus. By assaulting Hindu families, including women and children, with no provocation and with police complicity, this case illustrates how religious identity continues to serve as a trigger for hate crimes in Pakistan, reaffirming an ongoing pattern of targeted hostility towards the Hindu minority. Given that this case meets the parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime, it is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents by the date on which they occurred, rather than the date they were reported in the media. However, in this case, the report does not specify the exact date of the attack on the Hindu Kolhi community. For documentation purposes, the date has therefore been recorded as 24th September 2025, based on when the incident was reported in the media.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
