With the Jamia Binoria Aalmia slamming the high court decision of sending Rinkle Kumari (now Faryal Bibi) to a shelter home, the forced conversion case is gathering international support as US Congressman Brad Sherman on Tuesday wrote a letter to President Asif Ali Zardari, asking him take all necessary steps to bring an end to the harassment of Hindus in Sindh.
Expressing displeasure over the decision of Sindh High Court (SHC) to lodge the Hindu girl at the Pannah Shelter Home and produce her before the Supreme Court on March 26, the religious seminary’s chancellor, Mufti Muhammad Naeem, termed the decision as “politically motivated” and demanded that the now Muslim girl should be allowed to live with her husband, Naveed Shah.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Naeem condemned the slogans chanted by Hindus outside the SHC, claiming it was an effort to cause anger among the Muslims. “We will continue to support our newly-converted Muslim brothers and sisters but if west-supported, so-called non-governmental organisations, nationalists or anyone else uses tricks to divert newly-converted Muslims and support Hindus, we can go at any level,” the cleric warned.
Quoting some newspapers, he alleged that the SHC judge [Justice Anwar Zaher Bajwa] belongs to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and issued the “political order” on the wishes of the party leadership.
Appreciating the notice taken by Supreme Court, he demanded that the apex court fulfil the requirements of justice.
Kumari, a young Hindu girl from the small town of Mirpur Mathelo in southern Sindh district of Ghotki, went missing and emerged a few days later, accompanied by a Muslim man, surrounded by a large number of supporters of Pir of Bharchoondi. She announced that she had embraced Islam and married Shah.
The Hindus took to the streets against the “kidnapping” of Kumari while the Sindh nationalists, liberal Sindhi Muslims and civil society and human right activists joined them in their protests, demanding that the girl be handed over to her family.
Meanwhile, the echoes of the protest have reached the US congress and Sherman in a written letter to President Zardari, expressed grave concerns over the increasing harassment cases against Sindhi Hindus and urged him to take necessary steps to ensure the safety of Hindus in Sindh and also the safe recovery of Kumari.
Mullahs and Americans also get into the act
