Teenage Hindu girl's kidnapping sparks protest in Pakistan's Punjab

Lahore A teenage Hindu girls kidnapping by an influential Muslim man in Pakistans Punjab province sparked outrage among the minority community that held a sitin here on Thursday blocking the citys main road to press the Imran Khan government to recover her safelyHolding placards and banners the community members at Rahim Yar Khan some 400km from Lahore were demanding the recovery of 17yearold Naina and chanting slogans against forced conversionsAccording to the FIR Naina was kidnapped by Tahir Tamri with the help of his father and brothers last month It said the kidnappers took the girl to Karachi and got her embraced Islam at a seminary Jamiatul Saeed GulshaniMaima after marrying herShe was given Muslim name Noor Fatima The suspect uploaded their marriage and her embracing of Islam on social mediaThe Hindu community members took to the streets on the second consecutive day Thursday to lodge their protest against the abduction and forced conversion of NainaStop the forced conversion of Hindu girls after kidnapping them read a placardDuring the protest the girls father Ragu Ram threatened that he will set himself on fire if justice is not provided Rahim Yar Khan district reportedly houses 150000 HindusThe protesters ended demonstration after police highups assured them that the justice would be doneRahim Yar Khan police chief Umar Farooq Salamat said a police team has been sent to Karachi to recover the girlA police team of RYK is present in Karachi to trace the girl and the suspect and hopefully we will soon trace them Salamat saidLast month two Hindu teenage sisters Raveena 13 and Reena 15 were allegedly kidnapped by a group of influential men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi Soon after the kidnapping a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the marriage of the two girls triggering a nationwide outrageIn its annual report the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan HRCP this week raised concerns about incidents of forced conversions and marriages of Hindu and Christian girls saying around 1000 such cases were reported in the southern Sindh province alone last yearThe cities where such cases occurred frequently included Umerkot Tharparkar Mirpurkhas Badin Karachi Tando Allahyar Kashmore and Ghotki said the 335page report titled State of Human Rights in 2018A Hindu lawmaker from Prime Minister Imran Khans party last month moved two bills in Parliament seeking enhancement of punishment for those involved in forced conversion and for making child marriage a cognisable offenceThe bills were accompanied by a resolution with the support of minority lawmakers from all major political parties condemning such incidentsThe fivepoint resolution called for immediate passage of the bill against forced conversions which had been unanimously passed by the Sindh Assembly in 2016 and then reverted due to a pressure of extremist elements from all the legislaturesHindus form the biggest minority community in PakistanAccording to official estimates 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan Majority of Pakistans Hindu population is settled in Sindh provinceAccording to media reports approximately 25 forced marriages to take place every month only in Umerkot district in Sindh provinceCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates