Two Hindu Minor Girls Approached Pakistan Court Seeking Protection

Guwahati: The two Hindu minor girls in Pakistan who were reportedly abducted and forcefully converted to Islam approached a court in the country's Punjab province seeking protection after which a man has been arrested for allegedly assisting in solemnising the wedding of the two girls.

It was on the eve of Holi that the two girls Raveena (13) and Reena (15) were allegedly kidnapped by a group of influential men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh. A video went viral soon after the kidnap where it has been seen that a cleric was purportedly shown solemnising the marriage which they called nikaah of the two girls triggering a nationwide outrage.

However, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered a probe on the issue.

According to a media report, the teenagers approached a court in Bahawalpur in Pakistan's Punjab province seeking protection. The reports also said that based on the teenager's allegations, the police have arrested a man from Khanpur who is suspected to have assisted in the marital contract of both the girls.

However, it has not been confirmed whether the man who was arrested by the police is the cleric who performed their marriage.

There were also reports that the cleric who performed the marriage of the two girls was arrested from Khanpur in Sindh.

Meanwhile, a prominent Hindu lawmaker, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party said that he would present a resolution in the National Assembly in its next session demanding an end to forced conversions.

The draft resolution prepared by Vankwani demands that the most unfortunate incidents of kidnappings and forced conversions must be condemned unanimously by all honourable members of Parliament.

The draft resolution also says that the bill against forced conversions which was unanimously passed by the Sindh Assembly in 2016 must be resurrected and passed in the Assembly on priority basis. The bill which was unanimously passed by the Sindh Assembly was then reverted due to the pressure of extremist elements. The resolution would also seek strict action against controversial religious elements for supporting such inhuman practice.

Soon after the reported abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of the Hindu teenagers, a war of words broke out between the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry after Swaraj sought details from the Indian envoy in Pakistan over the issue.

Swaraj in a tweet said that she had asked the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on the matter on which Fawad Chaudhry replied that it was his country's internal issue.

Moreover, the Hindu community in Pakistan has also carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action against those responsible.

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