ISLAMABAD - The President of Jinnah Institute and former federal minister Sherry Rehman has joined voice with all human rights organisations in condemning the murder of three Hindu brothers in Shikarpur district on Wednesday and also moved an adjournment motion in the National Assembly against this heinous act. Three Hindu brother brothers Dr Ajeet Kumar, Dr Naresh Kumar and Dr Ashok Kumar were gunned down due to an altercation with the Muslim Baban Khan Bhayo tribe over a dancing girl, just meters away from the local police station. The victims had been requesting for police protection after the earlier threats to the Hindu brothers but all these requests fell on deaf ears of the authorities and resultantly they killed by their opponents in their native village. The family members of the victims have expressed dissatisfaction over the registered FIR against the Bhayo clansmen, believing it to be largely fabricated, leading to the provision of some benefit of doubt for the accused despite the heinous nature of the crime. Rehman said, "This kind of open bias on the part of a state institution towards a minorities group not only amounts to violation of constitutional rights of minorities but also creates mistrust over the state's role as guarantor of a citizens' protection." The Shikarpur incident calls for a serious investigation into the role of local police officials who ignored the pleas of protection from the victims. The suspension of the SHO in Chak Police Station remained a disproportionately weak response to the abominable nature of this crime. She stated that the gruesome killings were "a reflection of the fact that we as a majority are still silent in condoning the discrimination and rampant persecution of citizens based on their religious background. The government has verbally condemned the murders but it remains an indisputable fact that religious minorities will not feel safe and free in an increasingly hostile and predatory environment for non-Muslims until the deep-rooted issues surrounding faith-based violence begin to be addressed." Sherry Rehman pointed out that Pakistan needs a major overhaul in its social and legislative framework to pave the way for a rights-driven approach towards issues related to minorities and the disadvantaged. To start with, any hate crime, which results from the discrimination on the basis of any individual's faith or background should be treated as a case of aggravated assault, and penalized as such.