Karachi: A legislator of Pakistan’s Hindu minority on Saturday warned of the forced conversion of a minor girl, who was kidnapped in southern part of the country, causing anger among the community and dealing a blow to the interfaith policy of the government.
Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, who is the member of Pakistan’s National Assembly, on Saturday told the media that Angeli, a 13-year-old Hindu girl, was kidnapped last week from Dharki town in southern Sindh province.
He further said that the kidnappers, including a person named “Siyal”, in connivance with a local politician, were keeping her in captivity at a madrasa or religious seminary and forcing her to abandon her religion.
“It is against the principles of interfaith harmony and a grossly illegal act,” said Vankwani, who also is the patron in chief of Pakistan Hindu Council.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), quoting Hindu Panchayat, said that on an average some 20 girls are abducted per month and forced to convert to Islam and the role of government functionaries, police and the judiciary remains partial.
In much publicised past cases of kidnapping and conversion, two Hindu women, Rinkle Kumar and Dr Lata, in 2011 were ordered to live with their Muslim husbands after a protracted dispute by their families and the community, who claimed that they were abducted and forcibly converted to Islam.
Vankwani said that the state institutions were unable to provide security and failed to protect the minorities and that failure itself was a violation of the constitution of Pakistan.
He further said that annually 5,000 Hindu citizens were being forced to migrate to other countries according the Council study.
The Hindu leader said that he had raised the issue in the National Assembly and the deputy speaker of the Assembly had referred the issue to the standing committee on law and human rights.
