Thousands of Sindhi people in Pakistan allegedly face persecution and human rights abuses, according to the World Sindhi Congress, established in 1988 to advocate for the Sindhi community.

One of the main objectives of the NGO is to raise awareness on the alleged persecution and support the struggle of Sindhis for the recognition of their right to self-determination.

More on Sindh province

Britian invaded Sindh during the colonisation era and occupied the commercial hub of Karachi - Sindh's provincial capital and Pakistan's largets city - in 1839.

Sindh became part of the British India's Bombay Presidency in 1847 and became a separate province in 1936.

When Pakistan became independent from British India in 1947, Sindh was annexed to the new state.

Sindh has the second largest economy in Pakistan and it is the most industrialised province in the country. Is is inhabited by some 30.4 million people, the majority of whom are Muslims (83%), followed by Hindus (16%).

IBTimes UK spoke with Dr Lakhu Luhana, chairman of the congress, who warned Sindhi people are marginalised in all aspects of Pakistani society and are at risk of being converted into an ethnic minority.

In July, local media reported that Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Department claimed a new network of terrorists had emerged in Sindh.

However, according to Luhana, religious extremism in the Sindh province is spread with the help of Pakistani authorities in order to counter Sindhi people's secular views.

He also alleged that religious fanatics will continue to spread around the world unless the international community intervenes and stops abuses carried out in Pakistan.

Commentators have compared the human rights abuses allegedly occurring in Sindh to those taking place in Balochistan, another province of Pakistan, where people are often abducted, tortured and killed.

Balochistan activists claim Pakistan cracks down on those who demand independence, while the international community stays silent.

Human Rights Watch has released several reports on abducted people in Balochistan. In 2015, the NGO said that since 2009, authorities have recovered the bodies of 4,557 suspected victims of enforced disappearance and subsequent extrajudicial execution, of which 266 remain unidentified.

In 2009, Amnesty International warned Aakash Mallah, vice-chairman of the Sindh nationalist party Jeay SindhQaumi Mahaz (JSQM), and JSQM activist Noor Mohammad Khaskheli were at risk of execution after being abducted in Sindh.

IBTimes UK contacted the London High Commission for Pakistan for comments on alleged abuses committed in Sindh but has not received a response at the time of publishing.

In a previous interview on alleged abuses in Balochistan, the commission told IBTimes UK: "The allegation that Pakistan Army 'routinely abducts and kills' Baloch people for demanding independence from Pakistan is completely false. Balochistan is an undisputed and integral part of Pakistan from its very inception.

"There are some political and economic grievances which have been raised by the Balochistan province over the years. The Federal government is cognisant of these and is making efforts to address this through a political process and economic measures."

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