The radicalisation of Pakistani Muslim society has resulted in yet another ghastly case of abduction and forced conversion of a minor Hindu girl in the country. According to news reports, a 9-year-old Hindu girl was kidnapped from her house earlier this month by a 55-year-old man in Sindh province who proceeded to marry her. He is also charged with converting her to Islam against her will.
India has registered a strong protest against Pakistan after learning about the severe incident and urged the latter to guarantee security and uphold the rights of its minority groups.
Notably, there has been a sharp rise in the number of horrifying atrocities committed against minorities, particularly Hindus in Pakistan during the past several years. Sindh is home to a lot of Hindus and hence Hindu women and girls are persistently targeted by the Muslims there.
Last year, in an alarming instance in the region, a Hindu woman, 44, was killed and her body was dismembered. The same year an 18-year-old girl was lynched in Sukkur for opposing her kidnappers. Such regular occurrences have led to the feeling of terror among the country’s minority.
According to Indian officials, 124 incidents of forced conversion and marriage of girls and women from minority populations, many of whom are minors, have been recorded in Pakistan in the previous year.
The government of India believes that by failing to take decisive action against the offenders, the local police and other authorities in Pakistan have exacerbated the level of fear among the nation’s already marginalised minority.
In March of this year, India heavily criticised Pakistan in front of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the same. The Indian government asserted that young girls from minority communities are being forced into becoming Muslims by a violent society and callous judiciary.
It further mentioned that Hindu and Sikh places of worship are often attacked, and their young females have been pressured into conversion. It also pointed out that the people who seek to speak out against these terrible deeds are repressed in the country with unparalleled ferocity.
In addition, the government had said that no minority community could now live in freedom or practise their faith in Pakistan. This month, a Sikh businessman was shot dead in Peshawar just before a Hindu doctor was assassinated in Sindh. It also brought up the atrocities against the Ahmadiyya community and highlighted that the country is persecuting them just for practising their religion.
It is important to note that India is keeping track of incidents involving assaults on Sikh and Hindu communities in Pakistan.