IHC permits Ghotki sisters to stay with their husbands [Update Post #58]

[Sachin136]

Two Hindu girls aged 14 and 16, who were declared 'missing' from their homes in Sindh, have embraced Islam, Pakistan Today reported on Friday. The parents of the girls, Reena and Raveena, said they were 'abducted' on the eve of Holi. However, according to the publication, the Karachi police said the duo claimed they embraced Islam under no pressure and that they left home of their own accord.

Authored by Kamal Siddiqi, a former editor of the Express Tribune, a 2017 article had claimed that the manner in which the Hindu community is being treated in Sindh province is and should be a matter of shame for all Pakistanis.

"In present day Pakistan, Hindu women are under constant danger of being kidnapped and then converted to Islam, forcing the hapless woman to break all ties with their families and live the rest of their lives in an alien environment, married to a stranger. Such criminal incidents are unfortunately presented in Pakistan as a good deed under the garb of religion," Siddiqi says in his article.

Narrating events surrounding such incidents, Siddiqi says once a girl is kidnapped, her family runs from pillar to post to get information about her whereabouts, even as the state machinery works in favour of the kidnappers. After much to and fro, an FIR is lodged, but by that time, the Pir in Dargah Bharchundi has already issued a "conversion certificate" and married off the couple. So, when the police finally "locates" the couple to present them in court, all the legal formalities have been completed.
The Sindh Assembly's Forced Conversion Bill, a private bill jointly moved by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (F) lawmakers, was passed unanimously on November 24, 2016. However, under pressure from lawmakers, the governor was asked not to ratify the bill.

https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2019/03/22/missing-hindu-girls-embrace-islam-pakistan.html

 

[troodon]

Dargah Pir's who are supposed to be soft on Hindus are doing the conversions. What has this come down to.

I want to see the before and after names of those Hindu girls.

 

[troodon]

Also, I see no future for Hindus in Pakistan. It is an Islamic republic and minorities will always be at risk.

Either convert and live peacefully as Muslims or move to India and live peacefully (even if it means initial poverty).

 

[Third_Umpire]

Shameful and sad.

 

[Darkrai]

Technically if you are a true Hindu your destination should be Islam. If people embrace Islam on their own accord then that's wonderful. However, people should not be kidnapped and forced to convert.

 

[moghul]

Shameful, brutality at its worst.

 

[emranabbas]

Source is Indian wouldn't take this report too seriously.

 

[Akki malhotra]

Source is Indian wouldn't take this report too seriously.

That source is also indian where you previously commented about Indian Muslims. Anyways never mind.

 

[emranabbas]

That source is also indian where you previously commented about Indian Muslims. Anyways never mind.

Theres also a video as evidence anyways nevermind.

 

[Akki malhotra]

Theres also a video as evidence anyways nevermind.

All such news or above 90 percent news comes out of india are of indian sources anyways.

 

[Rishikesh]

But earlier this month, even this dissimulation did not work for one happily married Christian couple with three children, with the entire family having non-Christian specific names. (Dawn’s policy does not allow identification of the rape victim.) Little did they know of the hell that lay in wait. A sexual predator in their Islamabad neighbourhood stalked the wife but was rebuffed by her. With pistol in hand, and with an accomplice, the man later entered their house and abducted her. The police initially refused to register an FIR or recover her, eventually acting only under pressure.

Two weeks later the distraught and disoriented woman was shifted to a Dar-ul-Aman. With severe visible bruises, she says she had been raped for a full 10 days. The police refused the husband’s request for a medical inquiry because, according to the signed evidence, she had converted to Islam and was now one of the abductor’s wives.

This has made the problem infinitely more serious since the woman cannot now legally revert to being a Christian. That she signed the conversion document under duress may or may not matter.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1471340/pakistans-terrified-christians

 

[introvert]

Shameful if true.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

But earlier this month, even this dissimulation did not work for one happily married Christian couple with three children, with the entire family having non-Christian specific names. (Dawn’s policy does not allow identification of the rape victim.) Little did they know of the hell that lay in wait. A sexual predator in their Islamabad neighbourhood stalked the wife but was rebuffed by her. With pistol in hand, and with an accomplice, the man later entered their house and abducted her. The police initially refused to register an FIR or recover her, eventually acting only under pressure.

Two weeks later the distraught and disoriented woman was shifted to a Dar-ul-Aman. With severe visible bruises, she says she had been raped for a full 10 days. The police refused the husband’s request for a medical inquiry because, according to the signed evidence, she had converted to Islam and was now one of the abductor’s wives.

This has made the problem infinitely more serious since the woman cannot now legally revert to being a Christian. That she signed the conversion document under duress may or may not matter.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1471340/pakistans-terrified-christians

Islamically there's a waiting period so haram nonetheless

 

[Loralai]

There must be an investigation here as the girls were underage. This is totally unacceptable and sad day for Pakistan but we will refuse to acknowledge seriousness of our situation.

 

[Asim_khan]

14 and 16 year olds belong with their parents. If they hold onto their beliefs, once of age, they can do what they like, but until then, they're wards of their parents, not some potential grooming paedophile.

Let's see what the PPP Sindh govt can do about it.

 

[Tubs]

I thought legislation was put in place to put a stop to this?

Absolutely disgusting, hope the thugs who did this are punished, and the girls returned to their parents.

 

[DRsohail]

Also, I see no future for Hindus in Pakistan. It is an Islamic republic and minorities will always be at risk.

Either convert and live peacefully as Muslims or move to India and live peacefully (even if it means initial poverty).

No they have been living with peace, no forceful conversion, have been affected recently but all of us have been affected.

 

[DRsohail]

BTW government mus investigate any conversion of less than 18 years old.

 

[MP2011]

Shameful. I've never understood what do people gain if some extra people join their faith? This applies to people of all faiths.

 

[CricketCartoons]

Shameful. I've never understood what do people gain if some extra people join their faith? This applies to people of all faiths.

I don't understand what problem indians have with someone from another country embracing a religion which provides them social mobility.

 

[Sachin136]

Source is Indian wouldn't take this report too seriously.

Pakistani sources are reporting the same thing. There is also a video of it.

 

[Adijazz1706]

The central issue here is compulsion to convert which is banned in Islam, the people responsible should be stuck in jail for a while to sober them up, maybe provide them a copy of the Quran so they actually know something about Islam

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Also, I see no future for Hindus in Pakistan. It is an Islamic republic and minorities will always be at risk.

Either convert and live peacefully as Muslims or move to India and live peacefully (even if it means initial poverty).

The Hindu population has been stable since 1951 in Pakistan at around 1.6%. There is no mass conversion going on for Hindus. With that being said if even one person is being forced to convert its wrong, but keep in mind there are also situations when there is a love marriage between a Muslim boy and a Hindu girl, and the girl converts for sake of marriage.

The government has a quota for jobs, there is also a quota in parliament for minorities. Their situation isn't that bad. Life isn't really good for anyone in Pakistan outside of the upper middle class, and elite class.

 

[Sachin136]

The Hindu population has been stable since 1951 in Pakistan at around 1.6%. There is no mass conversion going on for Hindus. With that being said if even one person is being forced to convert its wrong, but keep in mind there are also situations when there is a love marriage between a Muslim boy and a Hindu girl, and the girl converts for sake of marriage.

The government has a quota for jobs, there is also a quota in parliament for minorities. Their situation isn't that bad. Life isn't really good for anyone in Pakistan outside of the upper middle class, and elite class.

'Forced conversions' compel 5,000 Hindu families to leave Pakistan per year

1000 non-Muslim girls are converted to Islam every year in Pakistan

https://www.business-standard.com/a...o-leave-pakistan-per-year-117062100448_1.html

Unfortunately it does seem like a rather major problem.

 

[MenInG]

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday said the government has taken notice of reports of the alleged forced conversion and underage marriages of two teenage girls in Ghotki.

The girls' father and brother, in videos circulating on social media, say that the two sisters were abducted and forced into changing their religion. However, a separate video of the minor girls is also making the rounds, in which they say that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

Lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir was among those who raised the issue on Twitter, sharing a video which he said was of the two sisters, one aged 14 and the other 16.

In the video, a cleric can be seen next to the girls and two men who they were married to. The cleric says the girls were inspired by Islam and alleges that their family is spreading "false propaganda" and is threatening their lives.

Nasir said the sisters were converted at the Dargah Barchundi Sharif. "As per Dargah, girls wanted to convert to Islam since long influenced by its teachings, but first act after conversion was underage marriage," he said. The girls were reportedly taken to Rahim Yar Khan following their marriages.

Nasir also shared a copy of a first information report dated March 20, which was registered by the girls' family against their alleged forced conversion to Islam.

"FIR [registered] with local police for 'abducting to compel to marriage'. Age in FIR is 14 and 16," said Nasir. "Under Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act, every citizen under 18 falls under definition of child and cant be married."

"Police has tried to dismiss the matter by citing a video of the two sisters in which they claim they will fully converted (sic) to Islam," Nasir said.

Chaudhry on Twitter said that the Human Rights Ministry had been "asked for an inquiry". The information minister said he would share more information when it became available.

The Ghotki police could not be reached on Saturday evening for a comment.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1471428/n...riages-of-2-minor-hindu-girls-in-ghotki-fawad

 

[Abdullah719]

PM Khan orders Sindh, Punjab govts to retrieve teenage girls allegedly forced to convert, marry

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday ordered the Sindh and Punjab governments to work together to retrieve two teenage girls who were allegedly kidnapped, forced to convert from Hinduism to Islam before being married to Muslim men, and have reportedly been taken to Rahim Yar Khan from Ghotki.

The father and brother of the girls in videos — circulating on social media over the last two days — said that the two sisters were abducted and forced into changing their religion from Hinduism to Islam. However, a separate video of the girls has also been making rounds, in which they said that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

Today, in a set of two tweets, Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said that Prime Minister Khan has asked the Sindh and Punjab governments to investigate reports of the two girls being shifted to Rahim Yar Khan from Ghotki.

The prime minister further asked that the two girls be retrieved if they have indeed been moved to the city.

According to the tweet, the prime minister also directed the Sindh government to take concrete steps against such incidents [of abduction and forced conversions].

In his tweet, Chaudhry further said that Pakistan's minorities represent the white part of Pakistan's flag and that "we love all our colours and the protection of our flag is our responsibility."

Separately, India's Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj tweeted that she has asked the Indian high commissioner in Pakistan to give her a report on the matter.

Chaudhry, responding to Swaraj on twitter, said that this is Pakistan's internal matter and he hopes the Indian government would "act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian minorities."

https://www.dawn.com/news/1471573/p...enage-girls-allegedly-forced-to-convert-marry

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mam its Pakistin internal issue and rest assure its not Modi’s India where minorities are subjugated its Imran Khan’s Naya Pak where white color of our flag is equally dearer to us.I hope you ll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian Minorities <a href="https://t.co/MQC1AnnmGR">https://t.co/MQC1AnnmGR</a></p>— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) <a href="https://twitter.com/fawadchaudhry/status/1109709314590154752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Loralai]

The correct steps have been taken - well done IK and PTI government for acting speedily. Lets hope our government can get to the bottom of this issue.

 

[Loralai]

Also, is anyone aware if PPP/Bilawal have pursued this issue? Shame on them if not.

 

[Pakpak]

They're in jail now thanks to Imran Khan.

I wonder where Bilo and his government were during this time?
[MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION]

 

[saeedhk]

Before criticising the treatment of minorities in India and faraway lands, Pakistanis need to look inwards.

Pakistan is a terrible place for minorities. Hundreds of Hindu girls have been forcibly converted to Islam, hundreds of Christians have been killed in gun and bomb attacks, more than 6000 Hazaras & Shias have been murdered and hundreds of Ahmedis have been shot or blown up.

There is a need for introspection.

 

[Madplayer]

Actions need to be taken to ensure these things dont happen and are prevented by local authorities. Its astonishing that PM himself has to come to the aid of such people. Its heartening to see but he shouldnt have to deal with such local crimes.

 

[Adijazz1706]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mam its Pakistin internal issue and rest assure its not Modi’s India where minorities are subjugated its Imran Khan’s Naya Pak where white color of our flag is equally dearer to us.I hope you ll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian Minorities <a href="https://t.co/MQC1AnnmGR">https://t.co/MQC1AnnmGR</a></p>— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) <a href="https://twitter.com/fawadchaudhry/status/1109709314590154752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Bhaijaan this is all well and good, but needing the PM to take control of local matters isn't an ideal state of affairs

 

[Loralai]

Before criticising the treatment of minorities in India and faraway lands, Pakistanis need to look inwards.

Pakistan is a terrible place for minorities. Hundreds of Hindu girls have been forcibly converted to Islam, hundreds of Christians have been killed in gun and bomb attacks, more than 6000 Hazaras & Shias have been murdered and hundreds of Ahmedis have been shot or blown up.

There is a need for introspection.

Agree with you! Don't know why we always have to compare to India when it comes to minority issue. The truth is we have a very long way to go .

 

[PakLFC]

The problem is the illiterate Mullah brigade who will insist the girls converted by choice when we all know this is not true. Never mind what India does to their minorities, two wrongs don't make a right. Retrieving the girls is just not good enough at all. They should be financially compensated and the perpetrators given exemplary punishment.

 

[Abdullah719]

Nikah Khwan among 7 arrested over alleged forced conversion, underage marriages of Ghotki sisters

Police have detained at least seven people, including a Nikah Khwan (marriage officiator), suspected of involvement in the alleged abductions, forced conversions from Hindusim to Islam, and underage marriages of two minor sisters reported in Ghotki.

On Saturday, the government took notice of the incident after two separate videos started doing rounds on social media. The father and brother of the girls in videos circulating on social media said that the two sisters were abducted and forced into changing their religion from Hinduism to Islam. However, a separate video of the girls went viral, in which they said that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

In the video, a cleric can be seen next to the girls and two men who they were married to. The cleric said the girls were inspired by Islam and alleged that their family was spreading "false propaganda" and threatening their lives.

On March 20, the girls' family lodged a First Information Report against their alleged forced conversion to Islam.

Deputy Commissioner Saleemullah Odho and Superintendent Police Farrukh Lanjhar paid a visit to the girls' father on Sunday night and assured him of the government and police's full cooperation in the case.

Police on Sunday said they had conducted several raids in Punjab's Rahim Yar Khan district ─ where it was believed the girls were taken from Ghotki ─ and arrested the Nikah Khwan who solemnised their marriages, a leader of the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek, and some relatives of the two men who had married the two girls. The detained suspects were handed over to Sindh police.

SP Lanjhar said that action was being taken on all available information to recover the girls. He was confident that the girls would be recovered soon.

Provincial minister Syed Owais Shah also visited Hari Lal, the father of the two girls. He said that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had contacted his counterpart in Punjab over the issue. He also expressed his hope that the two would be recovered soon.

However, Shiv Lal, a Manghwal community leader, described the assurances as lip service. He said that if the girls had embraced Islam, they should be produced before a court of law. He said that their alleged forced conversion and marriages would be challenged in the court, as both the girls are under 18 years of age.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1471788/n...nversion-underage-marriages-of-ghotki-sisters

 

[slipcatch]

Agree with you! Don't know why we always have to compare to India when it comes to minority issue. The truth is we have a very long way to go .

Before criticising the treatment of minorities in India and faraway lands, Pakistanis need to look inwards.

Pakistan is a terrible place for minorities. Hundreds of Hindu girls have been forcibly converted to Islam, hundreds of Christians have been killed in gun and bomb attacks, more than 6000 Hazaras & Shias have been murdered and hundreds of Ahmedis have been shot or blown up.

There is a need for introspection.

This idea of, do not criticize any other country because it had happened in your own country is probably the most ignorant approach to ignore the plight of minorities.

Neither you nor anyone else could do much about the plight minorities if the government of that respected country is willing to do anything about it.

Current Pakistan's government has displayed the will and action to address the plight of minority.

The truth is majority of Pakistani do not support it, are against it, and will continue to be against it.

So just because your own country was unable to help minorities then it does not mean one should not highlight the plight of other minorities in their respected countries.

Unless people refuse to highlight the plight of in their own minorities and continue to highlight others then it would be hypocrisy, and I personally haven't met any Pakistani who hasn't spoken about the plight of minorities in Pakistan.

 

[srh]

I do not understand why there are some muslims in Pakistan who think its ok to force a non-muslim to become muslim. Islam's holy book Quran specifically mention that forced conversion is not allowed:

Chapter: Al-Baqara
Verse: 256
There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.

So these people are using the name of Islam to do something which Islam has condemned

Pakistan should have very strict laws for people who commit an anti-Islam act in the name of Islam. Repeat offenders should get death penalty.

 

[Syed1]

Difference between Pakistan and India is night and day these days.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Two minor girls from Daharki in Ghotki district of Sindh on Monday approached a court in the Islamabad High Court seeking protection.

The family of the teenage girls claimed that the sisters, Raveena and Reena, were abducted from their residence, and forcefully converted to Islam before they were subjected to underage marriages. The incident came to light after the girls’ father and brother revealed the details in videos that went viral on social media.

The petition nominated Interior Ministry, Sindh Chief Minister, IG Sindh and Punjab, MNA Ramesh Kumar and Hari Lal.

The petitioners said that propaganda being aired against them have endangered the lives of their families, adding that both the sisters were inspired from the Islamic teachings for long but never disclosed in public due to safety concerns.

The sisters converted to Islam on March 23, 2019.

The petitioners said that the accepted Islam with their choice and requested for protection from the security authorities. The IHC’s chief justice, Jutsice Athar Minaullah, will hear the petition tomorrow.

Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier ordered Sindh government to launch probe into reports of abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of the two teenage Hindu girls and to take immediate steps for their recovery.

In a Twitter post, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry informed that Prime Minister Imran had issued directives to the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/232111-ghotki-sisters-approach-ihc-for-protection

 

[Bewal Express]

What is these people's obsession with forcibly converting people?

 

[Adijazz1706]

What is these people's obsession with forcibly converting people?

It's like they're working on a commission basis, instead forcibly converting people will earn you jahannum for disobedience of the command of the Quran and Sunnah

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

What is these people's obsession with forcibly converting people?

They are criminals and abductors hiding behind Islam, at least that is my opinion.

I have not read the article and neither do I plan to but I can imagine these animals abducting defenseless girls; "converting" them and raping them.

Do all that and then hide behind Islam.

I just hope Police gives these pathetic fools a good phainta.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mam its Pakistin internal issue and rest assure its not Modi’s India where minorities are subjugated its Imran Khan’s Naya Pak where white color of our flag is equally dearer to us.I hope you ll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian Minorities <a href="https://t.co/MQC1AnnmGR">https://t.co/MQC1AnnmGR</a></p>— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) <a href="https://twitter.com/fawadchaudhry/status/1109709314590154752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It's nothing to do with Swaraj or the Indian government - you don't see Pakistan demand a 'report' every time something bad happens to a muslim in India so why does Swaraj want a 'report' here?

 

[srh]

It's nothing to do with Swaraj or the Indian government - you don't see Pakistan demand a 'report' every time something bad happens to a muslim in India so why does Swaraj want a 'report' here?

she has simply lost her mind trying to hide the crimes against muslim minority in India by using false equivalency with any crime against hindu minority in Pakistan

 

[PakLFC]

I don't know why so many Mullah's and their followers are obsessed with conversions. I hate it when they do that.

 

[MenInG]

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday, while hearing a petition filed by two Ghotki sisters who were allegedly forcibly converted from Hindusim and married to Muslim men, ordered the state to take over custody of the girls and ensure their safety.

The petition filed by the girls and their spouses Safdar Ali and Barkat Ali sought protection from adverse action. It said that the girls left their home on March 20. On March 22, after announcing that they had willingly converted, the girls sought legal help.

According to the petition, the two girls were born in a Hindu family and converted because they were impressed by Islamic teachings. It claimed that they did not inform their family because of threats to their lives.

They claimed that MNA Ramesh Kumar Vankwani and Hari Lal from the Hindu Council had concocted a false and fabricated story about their forceful conversion.

The petitioners subsequently left their native town of Ghotki in Sindh and travelled to Khanpur in Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab. They travelled to Islamabad after learning that the inspector general of Sindh and Punjab were planning an operation in Khanpur against them and, the petition claimed, feared that the police may kill them if they are apprehended to show "progress" to the governing party.

They asked the court to restrain the respondent authorities ─ the state minister for interior, Sindh chief minister, inspectors general of Sindh, Punjab and Islamabad police, MNA Vankwani and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) ─ from "harassing" and "threatening" them, as well as requesting that Pemra be asked to refrain from "promoting propaganda" against the petitioners.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition in Courtroom 1, where both girls and their alleged spouses were also present. The judge ordered the state to take over custody of the girls, and they were subsequently handed over to the deputy commissioner (DC) Islamabad.

"DC sahab, until the final report is submitted, they will remain your guests," Justice Minallah said.

Justice Minallah also ordered the determination of the girls' age and instructed the provision of security to them to ensure their safety.

"Even if the girls are placed in a shelter home, the federal government must ensure their protection," the judge asserted. "A district and sessions judge will be appointed a guardian in this case."

The hearing was adjourned until April 2.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1471982/court-orders-state-to-take-custody-of-ghotki-girls

 

[Swashbuckler]

PPP is a fraud party, they aren't secular in the least bit. Only talk big about minority rights but when it is time for action they are found missing. 1000s of such unfortunate victims over the years during their rule and they couldn't even pass a bill to protect underage Hindu girls. I am against poking my nose into Pak affairs but hope that good sense prevails and the minorities there get a better deal. Just like how I wish Muslims and Dalits in India are treated as equal stakeholders like upper caste Hindus.

 

[Greenstorm]

PPP is a fraud party, they aren't secular in the least bit. Only talk big about minority rights but when it is time for action they are found missing. 1000s of such unfortunate victims over the years during their rule and they couldn't even pass a bill to protect underage Hindu girls. I am against poking my nose into Pak affairs but hope that good sense prevails and the minorities there get a better deal. Just like how I wish Muslims and Dalits in India are treated as equal stakeholders like upper caste Hindus.

Hopefully this will be there last tenure in Sindh. Children in Thar are actually dying out of hunger in this day and age.

 

[srh]

PPP is a fraud party, they aren't secular in the least bit. Only talk big about minority rights but when it is time for action they are found missing. 1000s of such unfortunate victims over the years during their rule and they couldn't even pass a bill to protect underage Hindu girls. I am against poking my nose into Pak affairs but hope that good sense prevails and the minorities there get a better deal. Just like how I wish Muslims and Dalits in India are treated as equal stakeholders like upper caste Hindus.

it looks like all their politics revolve around saving their leader's corruption In a real democratic party, their leader would have step down and face the corruption cases by himself instead of using his party to protect his corruption

 

[Madplayer]

Drag these criminals in open and lash them 100 times each and then put them in jail for the rest of their lives.

 

[Muhammad10]

It's nothing to do with Swaraj or the Indian government - you don't see Pakistan demand a 'report' every time something bad happens to a muslim in India so why does Swaraj want a 'report' here?

BJP is a Hindutva party for a reason.

 

[Canford Cliffs]

Pakistan places 2 Hindu girls in protection after conversion

ISLAMABAD — A Pakistani court placed two teenage sisters from the minority Hindu community in a government shelter on Tuesday as authorities launched an investigation into whether the girls were abducted and forced to convert and marry two Muslim men.

The case of the sisters from the southern Sindh province has seen much traction in local media over the past days, going to the heart of two controversial issues in this predominantly Muslim nation: marriage of underage girls and forced conversions to Islam.

While marriage under the age of 18 is illegal in Pakistan, the law is often ignored. There is no legislation banning forced conversions.

The Islamabad High Court issued the protection order for the girls on Tuesday, saying it acted on a petition from the two. It also placed their husbands under protection but in a separate shelter, as they purportedly fear they could be attacked by the girls’ parents.

Pakistani media have cited the girls as claiming they were married of their own free will. Their lawyer, Mohammad Umari Baloch, claims they are not minors, contradicting the family’s statements.

The girls’ family, from the Sindh town of Ghotki, says the sisters are 13 and 15 years old and were abducted and forced to convert and marry the men. The sisters’ elder brother, Shaman Daas, said they were taken as the family was celebrating the Hindu annual festival of Holi last Friday.

“Their marriages should not have been performed and not by a Muslim cleric,” Daas told reporters.

Earlier, police in Sindh arrested several suspects in the case, including the cleric who performed the weddings on Friday. The arrests were made after Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered an investigation into the incident.

The Islamabad court said it would take up the case next Tuesday, after the probe is completed. The sisters’ parents are expected to attend the hearing.

A leading rights group, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, has urged the Sindh parliament to “take swift, serious measures to resurrect and pass the bill criminalizing forced conversions.”

The province’s parliament, the only one in Pakistan that has taken any action on forced conversions, failed to pass the bill banning it in 2016.

“At present, forced conversions are too easily - and too often - disguised as voluntary conversions, leaving minor girls especially vulnerable,” the commission said.

Dozens of human rights activists rallied Tuesday in the southern city of Hyderabad, denouncing the abduction of the girls and demanding the Sindh assembly adopt the bill against forced conversions.

Also Tuesday, lawmakers Jamshed Thomas and Shunila Ruth from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party submitted a bill to the National Assembly, seeking legislation against forced conversions

“The abduction of the two girls from the Hindu community motivated us to submit this,” Thomas said. “Anyone who wants to change religion or marry a person of his or her choice should have this right, but not before the age of 18.”

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/world/asia_pacific/pakistan-places-2-hindu-girls-in-protection-after-conversion/2019/03/26/aa958aa6-4f9a-11e9-bdb7-44f948cc0605_story.html

 

[Pete Rose]

As much I hate what social media has done to the quality of discourse and the concept of objective truth, I am thankful for moments like these. To name and shame people in to action. It won’t change a lot of hearts (the entire world is not on Twitter) but at least there’s some for redress for the marginalized.
Imagine this poor father getting any attention or justice in a world without social media.

 

[shaaik]

IHC forms commission to probe alleged forced conversion of Ghotki sisters

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday, while hearing a petition filed by two Ghotki sisters who were allegedly forcibly converted from Hinduism and married to Muslim men, formed a five-member commission to probe whether the girls were forcibly converted and if they were underage at the time of their marriage.

A bench headed by Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition filed by the girls and their husbands seeking protection.

As the hearing went under way, a medical report prepared by Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) radiology department was presented before the court.

IHC orders state to take custody of Ghotki sisters

Raveena and Reena from Daharki in Ghotki district of Sindh are 19-and-a-half years old and 18-and-a-half years old respectively, the report stated. The ages of the sisters were determined through a bone X-ray, it added.

The report further recommended a dental age test to further attest the ages of the two girls.

The court then constituted a five-member commission to probe the matter and whether the girls were underage at the time of their marriage to the Muslim men. The board comprises scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani and four others, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Chairperson Dr Mehdi Hasan, National Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson Khawar Mumtaz and human rights activist IA Rehman, who were earlier appointed as amicus curiae to assist the court.

The hearing of the case was then adjourned.

The government had taken notice of the incident after two videos went viral on social media. In one of the videos, the girls’ father and brother revealed the details and claimed that they were abducted from their residence, and forcefully converted from Hinduism to Islam before they were subjected to underage marriages. In the video, the girls' father had claimed that they were 13 and 14 years old.

However, a separate video of the girls had also gone viral, in which they said that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/232894-ih...e-alleged-forced-conversion-of-ghotki-sisters

 

[Markhor]

PPP is a fraud party, they aren't secular in the least bit. Only talk big about minority rights but when it is time for action they are found missing. 1000s of such unfortunate victims over the years during their rule and they couldn't even pass a bill to protect underage Hindu girls. I am against poking my nose into Pak affairs but hope that good sense prevails and the minorities there get a better deal. Just like how I wish Muslims and Dalits in India are treated as equal stakeholders like upper caste Hindus.

It was PPP in the 70s that amended the constitution to declare Ahmedis non-Muslims in a craven surrender to the far right.

Despite the tragic killing of Salman Taseer, PPP's secularism has amounted to little.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

So were they actually abducted or not? There seems to be conflicting accounts from the girls and their parents.

That aside, the bigger issue is age of consent, while provisionally that is supposedly 18 in Pakistan, there is a problem as the vast majority of Pakistan probably goes along with the Muslim traditional view that when a girl hits puberty she is a woman. If they want to make 18 the legal age for consideration as an adult, then it needs to be publicised and enforced widely. Otherwise maulvis will be pushing their own view as the correct one.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday, while hearing a petition filed by two Ghotki sisters who were allegedly forcibly converted from Hinduism and married to Muslim men, granted them permission to stay with their husbands.

Raveena and Reena from Daharki in Ghotki district of Sindh had approached the IHC last month seeking protection and steps to restrain the government, police and their family from forcing them to return "and their forceful reversion to Hindu religion". The sisters had said that they had married and converted to Islam of their own will.

During today's hearing, the IHC after hearing arguments of both sides, allowed the sisters to stay with their husbands. Interior secretary will ensure security of the sisters and their husbands, the court directed.

Further, the bench ordered the inquiry commission to present its report and final recommendations by May 14 and adjourned the hearing of the case.

IHC orders state to take custody of Ghotki sisters

On April 2, the IHC had formed a five-member commission to probe whether the girls were forcibly converted and if they were underage at the time of their marriage.

A medical report prepared by Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) radiology department was presented before the court and stated that the girls were not underage at the time of marriage.

Raveena and Reena from Daharki in Ghotki district of Sindh are 19-and-a-half years old and 18-and-a-half years old respectively, the report stated. The ages of the sisters were determined through a bone X-ray, it added.

The government had taken notice of the incident after two videos went viral on social media. In one of the videos, the girls’ father and brother revealed the details and claimed that they were abducted from their residence, and forcefully converted from Hinduism to Islam before they were subjected to underage marriages. In the video, the girls' father had claimed that they were 13 and 14 years old.

However, a separate video of the girls had also gone viral, in which they said that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/233828-ihc

 

[GBK_Fan]

How does the court allow underage kids to be married? Shouldnot these kids be the responsibility of the parents. Shameful decision tbh

 

[King-Misbah]

LHC should be disbanded for good. Shocker after skocker from these morons.

 

[gazza619]

How does the court allow underage kids to be married? Shouldnot these kids be the responsibility of the parents. Shameful decision tbh

Sickening. We need a complete overhaul of our system and law.

 

[Pete Rose]

Sickening. We need a complete overhaul of our system and law.

That’s not what this article says. It says they were 18 or 19.
So I am little torn about this entire episode. Like most people I was horrified initially on key aspects of this case’s reporting (underage girls, abduction, forced conversion, supposedly the men were married earlier). These latest developments indicate key aspects of the reporting were wrong or ill-informed.
But on the other hand I also know how the justice works in our part of the world abd also the systemic pressures minorities face.
Not sure what I think about this.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

minimum age of 18 for mairrage needs to be strictly enforced, no exceptions.

 

[shah_1]

They are over 18 and coverted to Islam without being forced. Don't know what the courts can do here.

 

[Stewie]

Do people even read the important posts before commenting?


According to court, the girls are 18 and 19... not underage

 

[GBK_Fan]

So suddenly the 2 underage girls are over 18 and people see nothing wrong in it?

 

[Sachin136]

So suddenly the 2 underage girls are over 18 and people see nothing wrong in it?

And they weren't abducted nor forcibly converted. Can't believe people are actually buying that.

 

[shah_1]

So suddenly the 2 underage girls are over 18 and people see nothing wrong in it?

It was only according to media reports

 

[Madplayer]

So suddenly the 2 underage girls are over 18 and people see nothing wrong in it?

They are saying that the Father had lied about them being underage as revealed by Bone x ray tests.

 

[BlackShadow]

Ok, so they wilfully accepted Islam and are not underage?

Case closed I guess.

 

[emranabbas]

So suddenly the 2 underage girls are over 18 and people see nothing wrong in it?

And they weren't abducted nor forcibly converted. Can't believe people are actually buying that.

Please read the article

Seems like the Hindu brother and father lied about the 2 ladies age and made out they were abducted to create a hoo haa because they could not digest The 2 ladies married and converted to Islam

 

[Madplayer]

Extremely sensitive case this. Feel for the parents no matter what the truth is.

 

[GBK_Fan]

Now we know why these incidents happen regularly and the Hindu community from Pakistan prefers to migrate/destitution in India. The educated class here does not see any issues how a few Moulvis always end up carrying out these conversions or how young girls not only accept Islam but marry men in different parts of the country several years their senior.

 

[Stewie]

Now we know why these incidents happen regularly and the Hindu community from Pakistan prefers to migrate/destitution in India. The educated class here does not see any issues how a few Moulvis always end up carrying out these conversions or how young girls not only accept Islam but marry men in different parts of the country several years their senior.

In which country is this illegal?
You know there are several laws in place regarding conversions. Some follow them and some do not. Point is, these girls may have married for love, a better future, maybe even because they truly realized Islam is the truth.

In any case, how do you olive the situation where adults willingly convert? You know I saw the video of two younger hindu girls the other day who were crying and claiming they were abused. Now I believe that to be a travesty, this..... not so much..

 

[GBK_Fan]

In which country is this illegal?
You know there are several laws in place regarding conversions. Some follow them and some do not. Point is, these girls may have married for love, a better future, maybe even because they truly realized Islam is the truth.

In any case, how do you olive the situation where adults willingly convert? You know I saw the video of two younger hindu girls the other day who were crying and claiming they were abused. Now I believe that to be a travesty, this..... not so much..

So you did see the video? And yet given the subcontinental setup, you don’t believe things were twisted to favour the powerful accused?

 

[slipcatch]

And they weren't abducted nor forcibly converted. Can't believe people are actually buying that.

You have a habit of believing in fake news even after your fake news had been debunked.

It seem you would believe any fake news as long as it'll make Hindu look victim.

 

[Syed1]

And they weren't abducted nor forcibly converted. Can't believe people are actually buying that.

Says the guy who is the merchant of fake news on this forum.



Irony just died a thousand deaths and nobody attended its funeral.

 

[slipcatch]

So you did see the video? And yet given the subcontinental setup, you don’t believe things were twisted to favour the powerful accused?

Simple answer is NO!.

many people convert daily to many different religion.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Extremely sensitive case this. Feel for the parents no matter what the truth is.

I don't. If the father lied about the girls age because he couldn't accept they had chosen to marry out, then he was putting petrol on open flames. I would have had more sympathy for him if he had stuck to the truth.

 

[slipcatch]

Let's turn the tables around.

All these Hindutva and also the believer of the fake news in this thread would be jumping up and down had a muslim girl converted or left Islam and her parent lied about her age.

The OP would be shedding tears in support of that girl.