Islamabad: Two Hindu girls were abducted and forcefully converted to Islam in Pakistan. In the first case, Renuka Kumari, a Hindu girl was allegedly abducted from the Institute of Business Administration in Sukkur and was forcefully converted to Islam. Many such incidents are regularly reported in Pakistan, where Hindu, Sikh and Christian girls are forcibly converted to Islam and married to Muslim men.
A non-profit organisation called All Pakistan Hindu Panchayat posted on Facebook claiming that the girl went missing on August 29 after leaving for her college. Meanwhile, the brother of the girl, Vinesh said that his sister was involved in a romantic relationship with a fellow classmate Babar Aman and the two are now in Sialkot. However, sources confirmed that the couple has been taken to PTI worker Mirza Dilawar Baig's residence in Sialkot. Sources added that Renuka was forcefully converted to Islam. Meanwhile, the police had taken Aman's brother in to the custody, sources added.
In a similar case, earlier, 19-year- old Jagjit Kaur who was also abducted and forcibly converted to Islam before being married to a Muslim man in the country's Punjab province. The incident came to light after a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA, Manjinder Singh Sirsa shared a video of the girl's family alleging that the girl was abducted and forcefully converted. The incident had drawn the attention and sparked anger in the Sikh community worldwide. The girl's father Bhagwan Singh, is a 'granthi' (priest) at Gurudwara Tambu Sahib in Nankana Sahib.
In a video, the family of the girl had complained to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan claiming that their daughter was kidnapped by six people at gunpoint on the night between August 27 and August 28. Surinder Singh, brother of Jagjit Kaur said, "Our family has faced a tragic incident as some goons forcibly entered our house and abducted my younger sister. They tortured her and forcibly converted her to Islam." He added, "We went to a police station to register a complaint. We met many senior officials but they have not listened to our complaint. The goons again came to our house and forced us to withdraw the complaint and threatened that they will also force us to convert to Islam if we persisted with the complaint." The family also appealed to Imran Khan and Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa for the safe return of Jagjit Kaur. The kidnapped girl later emerged in a video in which she claimed she had 'converted' to Islam. The family of the girl begged Imran for justice, stating that they'd self-immolate if their daughter did not return.
The matter had raised a furore in India, with several political leaders across parties seeking action against the perpetrators. The incidents have come at a time when Pakistan has been ranting up its diabolic rhetoric of the so-called mistreatment of minorities in India, particularly Muslims, ever since the Indian Parliament decided to revoke the especially accorded constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir. However, the fact remains that Pakistan remains a thoroughly unsafe country for its own minorities.
Amarinder asks Imran to act
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh sought Imran Khan’s intervention in the alleged conversion of a Sikh girl to Islam and urged New Delhi to strongly raise the issue with Islamabad.
Taking to Twitter, Singh shared a video of the incident in which the Sikh girl’s family can be seen seeking Khan’s assistance to trace their daughter. Condemning the incident, Singh tweeted, "Shocking incident of a Sikh girl being kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan. Call upon Imran Khan to take firm and immediate action against the perpetrators. Request Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar to strongly take up the issue with his counterpart at the earliest."
