Forced abductions an endemic issue in Pakistan’s Sindh

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Forced abductions of girls as young as twelve years of age have become a regular affair in Pakistan’s Sindh, as they have been trafficked to locations far from their homes and made to marry men who are often twice their age, Dailytimes reported.

Religious leaders and local law enforcement are frequently involved in crimes and rarely show any interest in aiding victims. Reports of kidnapping and forced marriage are frequently ignored by the authorities, giving the offenders the freedom to do as they like.

According to Dailytimes, the Pakistan government has not passed any legislation to address the issue despite repeated requests from human rights organisations inside and outside of Pakistan to put an end to forced abductions as well as conversions.

The Daily Times is a leading English daily in Pakistan. It is simultaneously published in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi.

The abduction and forced conversion of Hindu girls continue unabated in Pakistan. A resident of Malhi village of Sindh’s Tharparkar district, Ishwar Bheel, said that his 20-year-old daughter Guddi Bheel was kidnapped by Sikhander Bajeer of Tando Adam Naukot of Mirpur-Khason on March 8 while returning from the hospital where she had gone to collect fever medicines for her brother.

He said she had been pressured to embrace Islam and forced to sign and submit a sworn affidavit addressed to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mirpur Khas, claiming that she converted to Islam of her free will and was not pressurized or forced to do so.

Recently, a Hindu girl, 14, was kidnapped in Pakistan’s Qazi Ahmad and forced to marry a man, who was much older than her, with the abductor not facing any legal consequences, reported Dailytimes.

For fear of retribution from religious fundamentalists, successive Pakistani administrations have refrained from making forced conversions a crime.

A draft Bill to criminalise the practice was dropped by a parliamentary committee in October 2021, citing “an unfavourable environment,” although it was pretty clear that the Bill was dropped owing to pressure from the nation’s extreme political groups, Dailytimes reported. (ANI)