14-year-old Hindu girl forcibly converted after abduction in Thar, claims family

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A Hindu girl who was recently abducted by the armed men from her house in Thar has been forced to convert to Islam and reportedly made to enter matrimony, reported Dawn on Thursday.

Talking to reporters outside Islamkot Press Club, the family of the 14-year-old claimed that the girl was abducted a few days ago after three armed men barged into their home and held the family hostage.

Girl’s father Hero Meghwar disclosed that when he approached influential locals, he was told that the girl had converted and married someone named Naseer Lunjo, and there was nothing to be done. The father of the girl also mentioned police’s indifference, saying that the police demanded that the girl should be recovered and produced before a court “if she has indeed converted”.

The outlet quoted SSP Thar Ameer Saud Magsi as saying that a first information report (FIR) has been registered under Sections 365 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code, while raids are being conducted to arrest the three suspects nominated in the FIR.

The SSP further disclosed that “according to a letter he received from elders of the person accused of converting the girl, the girl had converted to Islam at the hand of a pir (spiritual leader) in Umerkot district”.

Confirming that the police have also received a certificate of the conversation, Magsi said the “now-married couple” has filed asked the Sindh High Court for protection. “The court has fixed the application for hearing on January 17 next year,” he added.

“The conversion certificate, however, leaves open the mystery of how a 14-year-old from a distant Thar village made it as far as Samaro,” concluded the outlet.