Fearing a backlash from the tribesmen amid the allegations of sexual assault of the seven-year-old Kalhoro girl, the Hindus in Pannu Aqil town had kept their businesses shut.
In a "revenge" attack, armed tribesmen ambushed a group of Hindus in Pakistan's Sindh province after accusing a member of the minority community of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl, prompting police to intervene and kill two assailants.
"More than two dozen armed men (from Kalhoro tribe) attacked Hindu's properties in Pannu Aqil town on Thursday as a revenge for the alleged sexual assault of a Kalhoro girl by a private school's gatekeeper, who is said to be a Hindu," local area SHO Javed Alam said last evening.
A heavy contingent of police reached the town to push back the attackers, killing two of them in an exchange of fire.
A policeman and a Hindu trader were among the several others who were injured in the incident.
Hindus live in large numbers in the interior areas of southern Sindh province since Partition of the subcontinent in 1947.
Fearing a backlash from the tribesmen amid the allegations of sexual assault of the seven-year-old Kalhoro girl, the Hindus in Pannu Aqil town had kept their businesses shut.
However, the tribesmen torched three of their shops.
On Wednesday, the girl was on her way to home when a gatekeeper of a private school allegedly lured her into the school in a bid to sexually assault her.
The girl fainted while screaming for help following which the gatekeeper locked her in a classroom.
After hearing the girl's screams for help, few people went inside the school and found her lying unconscious in a classroom. However, the gatekeeper managed to escape.
The accused was later arrested from Rohri on the charges of sexually assaulting the girl.
Meanwhile, police have registered a case against 50 suspects for burning Hindu property at Pannu Aqil.
The Shahi Bazaar in the town remained closed on Friday as the Hindu community feared there could be another attack by the Kalhoros.
There was tension in the area after a police van was attacked in the town.
SSP Saqib Ismail Memon told The Express Tribune newspaper that the violence was "not justified" as the accused gatekeeper, Sadhu Ram, had been arrested.
The two men linked to the violence who were killed by police in a shootout were identified as Nazir Mirani and Abdul Sattar Dayo. Six persons, including five criminals and a policeman, were injured in the incident.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed concern at "serious excesses" against the Hindus in Pannu Aqil.
In a statement, it said: "The HRCP is extremely distressed and shocked at the atrocities reported against non-Muslims residents of Pannu Aqil. The HRCP has received reports of houses burnt, property looted and women violated."
"This is absolutely intolerable. Those who commit excesses against non-Muslims are among the worst enemies of Pakistan, but perhaps they have been emboldened by the flabbiness of the state in dealing with them."
The government "must immediately intervene" to save Hindus from "this savagery and try those who riled up and led the mob to attack the non-Muslims," the statement said.
Local Hindus believes there was no sexual assault and the matter was orchestrated to harass the community, which includes rich traders.
Hindu Panchayat General Secretary Hari Lal told the media that when the school's principal was informed about the alleged assault, he had rushed to the area but the girl was not there.
"An hour later, the principal received another phone call, informing him that the girl had just come out and that her father N Kalhoro had registered a case against the 'chowkidar'," he said.
The girl's father was unavailable for comment but one of his neighbours claimed he had seen Ram take the girl inside the school, only to let her go because she did not stop screaming.
The neighbour also claimed that a criminal had asked him to file an FIR against Ram.
A doctor at the local hospital said there was no evidence of rape so far.
The hospital chief, Suhrab Shaikh, however, said it was too early to comment.
Pannu Aqil had been affected by sectarian violence in December 2007, when over 100 men raided the town and opened fire at people as well as shops owned by Hindus.
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