New Delhi, Aug. 13: Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab joined the BJP in Lok Sabha today to raise the issue of persecution of Hindus in Pakistan and asked the Union government to open its frontiers for Hindus across the world to come and settle in India.

“It is high time that our government allows the migrant Hindus (from Pakistan) to come and settle in India…Our frontiers should be opened to all Hindus who want to come and settle here. This is the only place that can give them support, succour and security. That should be the approach of the government,” said Mahtab, raising the issue during Zero Hour.

The issue rocked the Lok Sabha today along with issues such as black money stashed abroad and the recent Mumbai firing incident. Referring to reports about Hindu families fleeing to India through the Attari border and seeking Indian citizenship, members of the BJP, the BJD and the SP asked the government to intervene.

Mahtab drew the government’s attention joining on the issue with BJP’s Rajnath Singh, who was the first to raise it followed by SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Unlike Mahtab, Mulayam sought to distance himself from the BJP stressing it was a human issue, not one of Hindus and Muslims.

Referring to news reports about India asking Hindus coming from Pakistan to return after their visa term expires, Mahtab slammed the government decision and termed the government approach as wrong.

He charged the Pakistani government of being dictated by fundamentalists in their country and asked the Union government to immediately take up the issue with the country and ensure that minority Hindus are provided with adequate security there.

He also lamented the decline of Hindu population in Pakistan. “At the time of partition, Hindus comprised 26 per cent of the population of Pakistan (combining East Pakistan). But now, they are two per cent,” he said.

Rajnath Singh said minority Hindus and Sikhs were fleeing Pakistan and attacked the Centre for not taking the matter seriously. He alleged that the Hindus in Pakistan were being forcibly converted and that they were seeking help from the Indian High Commission and US Embassy there.