Abduction, Rape, Forced Conversion Of Minor Girls Of Minority Communities In Pakistan Are Defended By Not Only Religious Bigots But Also By Prime Minister Of Pakistan Imran Khan, The Self-Proclaimed Champion Of Minorities Of India
Imran
Khan says that Anti-forced Conversion (Draft) Bill is against Islam
Main
Points:
1. A Hindu girl
Reena Kumari Meghwar was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam In February.
2. A Minor girl
Chashman was abducted, forcibly converted and married by a Muslim.
3. Ministry of
Religious Affairs termed the Draft Anti-conversion Bill against the Shariah.
4. Imran Khan
said he will not allow any anti-forced conversion bill to be passed.
5. More than
1000 girls belonging to minority communities are abducted and forcibly
converted to Islam in Pakistan every year.
-----
By New
Age Islam Correspondent
11 October
2021
The
occurrence of forced religious conversions in Pakistan is not new. The
religious minorities of Pakistan have time and again raised the issue with
national and international human rights bodies and at the UN.
Though
forced conversion of non-Muslims into Islam is not approved by the Quran and
hadith, the religious extremist organizations and religious bigots in Pakistan
have always defended it under the pretext of Shariah. Anti-conversion bills
have been opposed and rejected by the religious bigots of Pakistan. In the
Sindh Assembly, an anti-forced conversion bill was not passed due to the
pressure of the religious section.
Recently, the
Anti-forced Conversion Bill was turned down by the Ministry of Religious
Affairs declaring it anti-Shariah. The Prime Minister Imran Khan seems to be
bowing down under pressure of the religious extremists of his country as he has
said that he will not allow any such bill against religious conversion.
The recent
cases of abduction and forced conversion of a minor Hindu girl Reena by one
Qasim Khaskheli and another case of abduction and forced conversion of a minor
Christian girl Chashman are only a tip of the iceberg. India has alleged that
persecution, abduction and forced conversion of minorities occur on daily basis
in Pakistan.
Only three
months ago, India, while exercising the Right of Reply to the statements made
by Pakistan at the 47th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) at the United
Nations in Geneva, had alleged that attacks on minorities had occurred in
Pakistan almost daily.
Pawan
Badhe, first secretary in India’s permanent mission in Geneva said during the
session that more than 1000 girls belonging to the religious minority
communities Christians, Ahmadiyyas, Sikhs and Hindus were being abducted,
raped, forcibly converted into Islam and married every year in Pakistan.
More
importantly, Mr Badhe said that these persecutions and conversions occurred
under the protection of the government. Imran Khan who champions the cause
of the minorities in India not only
turns a blind eye to the persecution of religious minorities of Pakistan but
also kowtows to the pressure of the religious majority especially of the
extremist organizations and ulema of the country. Ironically, the stand of the
ruling party Tehreek-e-Insaf Party is similar to that of Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan who say that the anti-forced conversion bill is against Islam.
------
Following
is the Original Article written By Naila Inayat. This article was
originally printed in The Print.
----
It’s
Up To Imran Khan Govt to Show Us Forced Conversion Is a Crime in Pakistan
By Naila Inayat
9 October,
2021
The
haunting clip of Reena
Kumari Meghwar calling for help from the rooftop of her alleged abductor’s
house in Badin district of Sindh province encapsulated the horrors of forced
conversions of minority Hindu and Christian girls in Pakistan. In February this
year, Reena was allegedly abducted and forcibly converted to Islam by her
neighbour Qasim Khaskheli, who then forcibly married her. Reena had reportedly
tied Qasim a Rakhi in
childhood. Reena was rescued by the police in July and sent to her parents on
court orders.
File photo | Pakistan PM Imran Khan | Praveen Jain | ThePrint
----
A Christian
rickshaw driver from Faisalabad, Gulzar Masih, is fighting for the custody of
his 13-year-old daughter Chashman,
who too was allegedly forcibly converted and married to Muhammad Usman after
her abduction. While the police mentioned her age as 17 in the FIR filed by Gulzar,
the Nikahnama (marriage certificate) claims she is 19. The Lahore High Court,
which rejected the father’s petition, said in its order that “Muslim jurists
regard mental capacity of a child
as of crucial importance” when considering the question of conversion, adding
that there is no minimum age for conversion mentioned either in Quran or
hadith.
Who Should
Minorities Turn To?
Reena and
Chashman are not isolated cases. Forced conversion of girls belonging to
minority communities has registered a surge in Pakistan in recent years.
Countless families still wait for their daughters to return home. But they are
seeking justice from a system that is stacked against them. From police to
judiciary, everyone looks the other way if the girl is a minor, if she was
kidnapped, raped and even if her so-called marriage certificate is forged.
There is no justice to be found when faith is used as an excuse to persecute.
The much
talked about anti-forced conversion bill that aimed at criminalising the act of
forced conversions has now been sacrificed at the altar of religiosity. The
draft of the bill, which has been in the works since 2019, was turned down by
the ministry of religious affairs which said the bill was against the Shariah
law. Religious affairs minister Noor-ul-Haq Qadri was of the view that the
clauses of 18-year age bar for conversion, appearance before a judge and a
90-day waiting period in the proposed bill were against Shariah and violate
human rights. Twice in Sindh assembly, the anti-forced conversion bill failed
to be passed due to mounting pressure from religious groups.
Last month,
the Council of Islamic Ideology had invited the infamous Pir of Bharchundi
Sharif, Mian
Mitho, for a brainstorming session on the bill. The man seemingly running
the conversion factory is called upon to weigh in on how to put an end to his
business. What a cruel joke!
Imran
Khan’s Double Talk
Speaking of
cruel jokes, Prime Minister Imran Khan, who till yesterday was of the view that
forced religious conversions are actually un-Islamic,
now assures Islamic scholars that no new law against Islamic principles would
be enacted
during his rule. He made this promise reportedly during discussions on bills
pertaining to forced religious conversions and domestic violence. Even Tehrik-i-Taliban
Pakistan, which termed
the anti-forced conversion bill as ‘against Islam’ while rejecting the amnesty
offer from Pakistan, would be relieved to hear about this capitulation.
More
details of the PM’s interaction
with the Ulema were shared by Mufti Tariq Masood who claimed that Imran Khan
called such bills a ‘Sazish (conspiracy)’ but that there was nothing to worry.
Mufti Tariq is the same person who was once baiting his followers to marry
three widows/divorcees and that he’ll find them minor virgins
as the fourth wife – if he can’t find them a 16-year-old girl, then he would
find two 8-year-olds or four 4-year-olds for them.
<
Imran
Khan’s U-turn is hardly surprising considering he didn’t vote for the 2006 Women’s
Protection Act that amended the oppressive rape and adultery provisions of
Ziaul Haq’s Hudood Ordinance. According to Khan, the General Pervez Musharraf
(retd) government had passed the bill to “introduce a made-in-Washington Islamic
system in the country.” Since Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf came to power, the Child
Marriage bill that sought to raise the age of marriage for a female child
to 18 years was also shot down in cahoots with the Council of Islamic Ideology.
While the domestic violence bill despite being passed by the National Assembly didn’t
become a law as it was declared un-Islamic and its clauses “contradicting
social values” by the Council of Islamic Ideology and religious affairs
ministry.
Before
assuming office, Imran Khan used to address Hindu and Christian minorities and
raise the issue of their abduction and forced conversion,
and used to find it absolutely unacceptable that Hindu girls were being
abducted daily in Sindh and would promise them equal rights. Now, he is simply
proving those were empty promises because every time he gets a chance to do
right by the beleaguered minorities, his government runs to appease the
religious Right for political brownie points.
Regularly getting reports of r minorities being blackmailed & oppressed, esp daily kidnappings of Hindus in Sindh. Absolutely unacceptable.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 7, 2014Imagine the
irony that the biggest crusader of minority rights for the rest of the world
doesn’t want to lead those crusades at home.
Forced
conversion is a human rights issue. Painting those who demand an end to this
rights abuse as ‘foreign agents’ trying to ‘implement Western agenda’ doesn’t
whitewash the fact that these conversions continue with impunity in this
country. A law that sets a minimum age for conversion and criminalises
abduction and coercion is essential and will go a long way in declaring that
Pakistan considers forced conversion a crime, unless we have got that wrong.
Source: The
Print
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-sectarianism/abduction-rape-forced-conversion-pakistan/d/125548
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