Jihad to convert Hindu girls to Islam rages on



PAKISTAN: Jihad to convert Hindu girls to Islam rages on

The Jihad to convert Hindu girls is continued unabated under the indifferent attitude of Pakistani authorities. In recent months, seven Hindu girls have been targeted in the conversion to Islam campaign. Of the seven, five have been abducted and converted by Muslim goons. One Hindu girl was abducted and forced to convert to Islam, but she has been subsequently recovered by the police. In one case, the attempted abduction was foiled by the passer-byes.

The Muslim abductors have also begun using new modus operandi. In one case, a Muslim man first became the 'brother' of a Hindu girl, and also observed the Rakhi Bandhan, a custom cementing the bond between brothers and sisters. Later, the same 'brother' abducted his 'sister'. After the abduction, he married her. Perhaps, as the prevailing understanding goes, he will be extra pleased with the idea that he will be rewarded after death for converting one Hindu girl to Islam.

Incidents of abduction of teenage Hindu girls are of no concern to the Sindh provincial government. And, such abductions are music to the ears of Muslim fundamentalists and powerful local elements that operate freely within and around the local administration.

According to advocate Veerji Kolhi, President of Progressive Hindu Alliance and Council for the Defense of Bonded Laborers, two Hindu sisters belonging to a low Hindu caste were abducted on 7 July 2013 by armed men from their village Kohli Vairi, located in Nangar Parka Taluka, Tharparkar District, Sindh. The girls, Ms. Tarki aged 16 years and Ms. Beena aged 14, daughters of Vanoon Kohli, were abducted by Hanif Nohri, Inayat Nohri, Majnoon Nohri , Jamal Nohri and Ismail Khoso, residents of Bado and Jud'dan villages located in the same taluka and district. They forcibly entered the house of the Kohli family in the night at 8 p.m. Mrs. Savarian Kohli, mother to the girls, was taking dinner with her children when the armed men entered her house. The abductors are alleged to be henchmen of the former chief minister of Sindh who has now joined the ruling party, the PML-N.

Mrs. Kohli fears that her daughters will be moved to another location, converted to Islam forcibly, and be killed by her abductors, as they are powerful and have great influence in the area. Demonstrators also appealed to the authorities to search the madressas for the recovery of the girls.

The Daily Awami Aawaz has recently reported that the case of Hindu Girl from Tendo Jam village who was kidnapped on the pretext of a 'love marriage' has been solved. Police have arrested a man, Mr. Mohammad Ali Machi, along with a woman, said to be his sister. There was an emotional scene in the police station as the girl, upon seeing her father Lilaram and mother Laxmibai, embraced her mother and started crying. In her statement the girl said that she came to Korti with her maternal uncle. She visited a dargah to seek blessings, after which she proceed to the Md. Ali Machi residence where she was forcibly taken to Kinri, converted to Islam, and married to Md. Ali Machi. She pleaded to be handed over to her parents. After recording the statement of the girl, the police arrested Md. Ali Machi, along with his sister Zarina. A case of kidnapping has been registered against them.

According to the Internationally Unity for Equality (IUFE), on 28 June 2013, a Hindu girl Ms. Rekha was abducted by Mr. Yaseem Lashari when she was on her way home from her work place. Rekha and her mother, Naavi, work in the factory where they met with Yameen Lashari. He made Rekha his sister and Rekha tied him a Rakhi (thread cementing bond between brother and sister, tied on the Hindu festival of Raksha bandhan by a girl around the wrist of boy, making them both brother and sister). Lashari became close to the family. He often visited their home. One day Rekha didn't come back home from work and on the same day Lashari was also absent from the work place. Navvi realized that her daughter had been abducted by Yameen. She filed a case of kidnapping against Yameen Lahari. On the day of the hearing the couple came to court and Naavi tried to meet with her daughter, but Lashari did not allow them to meet and talk. He abused and insulted Navvi and told her to get out of the court. Navvi informed the police about the incident but police didn't take any action. Later, one day, Lashari informed the mother through a messenger that he and Rekha have gotten married and there is no need for her to follow them.

On April 6, six persons riding motorbikes tried to abduct a Hindu woman from a bus near Toban Shakh, in Kanri, Sindh. The bike rider stopped the passenger bus and tried to drag out a married Hindu woman, Ms. Tarri, from the bus. When they were pulling her, she cried and shouted loudly for help. Other passengers and bystanders near the bus came to her aid and the perpetrators ran away. The Hindu community tried to file a first information report at the Kinri police station, but even after 6 hours of making the complainants wait, the police refused to file a case. According to the police the incident took place outside the limits of the Kinri police station.

Jamna Kumari, a 12 year old girl, was abducted by influential persons from village Arbab Rind, located near Bhit Shah, Hyderabad. According to the father of the girl Altaf Rind, Pathan Rind, Wazir Rind along with their companions entered his house, looted cash, gold, and other value able things. After looting, the men dragged out and took away his daughter Kumari. He filed a First Investigation Report (FIR) against the criminals. The Bhit Shah police arrested the men. But after taking bribes, the police released the them. The abductor goons are said to be from a religious seminary. The whereabouts of Jamna is still unknown. Her Hindu family fears that the girl will be sold to the Taliban in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkha, after her forced conversion to Islam.

In March 2013, Ganga, 18 years of age, daughter to gold trader Ashok Kumar, was abducted at dawn from her home located Jhanjhri Street, Sarafa Bazaar, in the limits of the City Police Station, Jacobabad. Mr. Asif Ali, the son of another gold trader Bahadur Ali Surhio, converted the abducted girl to Islam and married her. The marriage ceremony took place at the Amrot Sharif shrine. An FIR was lodged by the parents of the girl against Asif Ali, Bahadur Ali Surhio, and Miran Bukhsh. This abduction occurred at the time of the election of the Hindu Panchayat, which was postponed until this incident could be resolved. A big protest was organized against the alleged abduction and forced conversion. The protestors demanded protection of Hindu girls and Hindu people. They demanded the reunion of Ganga with her family. See www.sociableinfo.com/hindus-protest-after-woman-converted-to-islam-in-pakistan/#.UeY5sG2bFVU and www.awamiawaz.net/jacobabad-protest-4

According to the Hindu Panchayat, every month around 20 girls are abducted and forcibly converted to Islam. The role of officials in the police and in the Courts is questionable in these cases. The general view is if they were to act in accordance with the laws of the country, they will lose the reward awaiting them after death for such a conversion and also that the Muslim society will retaliate against them, declaring them as infidels or agents of India.

This thinking was evident in the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Rinkle Kumari and Dr. Lata. The Court decided in favour of perpetrators hailing from a notorious seminary that abducted and converted Rinkle Kumari to Islam. The Chief Justice himself met the abductor of Rinkle Kumar during Friday prayers and congratulated him for converting a Hindu girl to Islam.

Because of the vulnerability of Hindu girls and the attitude of the Courts, the government, and the police, Hindu families have started migrating to India. Hindu families are worried about their girls, and they try to keep them inside the house. But Muslim bigots have begun attacking their homes and kidnapping the young girls from inside their houses. Hindu boys appear to be of no interest to the Muslim fundamentalists.

The Hindu community has protested that even after forcibly converting the girls to Islam and marrying the girls, the perpetrators never allow the girls to meet with their parents. In many such cases even the courts have not allowed the girls to meet their parents. In the case of Rinkle Kumari and Dr. Lata the Supreme Court did not allow such a meeting to take place for fear that the real story would be told. It is also alleged by the Hindu community that girls are sold to the Taliban after they are converted to Islam.

In the absence of fair trial, the Hindu community continues to fall prey to the 'Islamic Justice'.

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