‘Stop forced conversion of Hindu girls after kidnapping them’, roars Hindu minority in Pakistan

Lahore, April 20: There has been a significant rise in number of Hindu girls being abducted and forced to get converted in Pakistan. With the recent news of Hindu girl’s abduction in Holi and women getting captivated in Pakistan, its high time some serious action needs to be taken to curb it. In a latest, a teenage Hindu girl was kidnapped by an influential Muslim man in Pakistan's Punjab province. The abduction of the girl sparked large protest from Hindu community blocking the city's main road to press the Imran Khan government to recover her safely.

 

The protest of the Hindu community was seen holding placards and banners. The community members at Rahim Yar Khan, some 400-km from Lahore, were demanding the recovery of 17-year-old Naina and chanting slogans against forced conversions.

According to FIR, Naina was kidnapped by Tahir Tamri, with the help of his father and brothers last month. It said the kidnappers took the girl to Karachi and got her embraced Islam at a seminary, Jamiatul Saeed Gulshan-i-Maima, after marrying her. She was given Muslim name Noor Fatima. The suspect uploaded their marriage and her embracing of Islam on social media.

The Hindu community members took to the streets on the second consecutive day Thursday to lodge their protest against the abduction and forced conversion of Naina. ‘Stop the forced conversion of Hindu girls after kidnapping them,’ read a placard.

During the protest, the girl's father Ragu Ram threatened that he will set himself on fire if justice is not provided. Rahim Yar Khan district reportedly houses 150,000 Hindus. The protesters ended demonstration after police high-ups assured them that the justice would be done.

Last month, two Hindu teenage sisters - Raveena (13) and Reena (15) - were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi. Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the marriage of the two girls, triggering a nationwide outrage.

The five-point resolution called for immediate passage of the bill against forced conversions, which had been unanimously passed by the Sindh Assembly in 2016 and then reverted due to pressure of extremist elements, from all the legislatures.

Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. Majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province.