Threatened Hindu girls to be moved to Islamabad
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By Zahid Gishkori
March 17th 2012
A National Assembly panel directed on Friday the Sindh police to shift two Hindu girls to Islamabad for protection against severe threats to their lives at the Panah Shelter Home in Karachi.
The panel gave the directions after the Sindh police expressed concern over the security for Rinkle (now, Faryal Bibi) and Lata Kumari, who were allegedly abducted and forced to get marry after embracing Islam.
Both girls will be shifted to Islamabad via the first flight available on the Pakistan International Airlines on Monday, according to the chairperson of the National Assembly Standing on Human Rights, Riaz Fatyana.
“I have directed the Sindh police to shift the girls to Islamabad for better security,” Fatyana told The Express Tribune.
Additional IG Police Sindh Falak Khurshid informed the panel that both girls were forcibly abducted in connivance of some political families. He, however, made it clear that both girls in their statements said they did not want their reunion.
Fatyana told The Express Tribune that some sitting parliamentarians are allegedly involved in such heinous crimes and are trying to cover up the issue. However, he avoided mentioning their names.
The lawmakers were also informed that Rinkle is facing death threats from a sitting MNA and his sons. Due to sensitivity of the matter, they did not disclose the name of the lawmaker.
During the course of proceedings, the committee was also informed that two other Hindu girls – Bharti, the daughter of Narain, and Rajee, the daughter of Moro Kolhi – were also abducted.
The police were directed to recover the two girls on a priority basis.
Rajee was kidnapped from Pir Sakhai village near Tando Muhammad Khan district and Bharti was abducted from Mohammad Khan Road Khadda Baghdadi months back, police officials informed the lawmakers.
Special cell for minority protection
The NA panel also directed the Sindh police to form a special cell to deal with cases of forced conversions, which seem to be rising with every passing day.
“A cell should be formed in the IGP’s office,” said Dr Araish Kumar, another member of the committee. It will address the grievances of minorities facing such problems in Sindh, particularly in far-flung areas.
President Asif Ali Zardari’s sister MNA Dr Azra Fazl had informed the National Assembly that Hindu girls were being forcibly kept in various madrassas around Sindh and are later forced to marry Muslims. She stressed the need for legislation to protect minority rights and to end forced conversions.