Minor daughter of Pakistan Christian couple abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married off; Read More-

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Aug 13: A Christian couple in Pakistan accused the son of a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader of being involved in abducting, forcibly converting to Islam, and marrying off their "underage" daughter.

 

 

The couple had alleged that a resident named Zulqarnain Zahid of their locality had kidnapped their daughter on August 3 stating that the son of a local PTI leader was involved in the abduction, Dawn reported. The incident took place in the Mubin Banda area in Ghazi tehsil in the Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

 

The victim’s parents Noreen Maseeh and Francis Maseeh had filed a written complaint with the police on Wednesday (August 11). They informed that the girl was a student of Std 9 and was preparing for her exam when she went missing from the house at around 12:45 am. The girl’s parents lamented that the PTI leader had assured the early return of the victim but did not keep his promise. Instead, he hurled abuses at them and asked to compromise.  

 

 

The girl's mother urged her not to pursue the case insisting that her daughter had eloped with the accused and converted to Islam before marrying him in court. "My daughter is a minor child, who can't be married off under the law," Noreen Maseeh said.

 

Meanwhile, the Ghazi police officials said that the preliminary investigation showed that the Christian girl had solemnised court marriage in Swabi after converting to Islam of her own free will, but he has not received any documents about this, Dawn reported citing SHO of Ghazi police station.

 

In recent years, there has been a surge in attacks on the place of worship of religious minorities in Pakistan. The country has been repeatedly slammed by the international community for not safeguarding the interest of its minorities.

 

 

In a recent development, a mob comprising over a dozen men armed with sticks had vandalised a Hindu temple in village Bhong of Rahim Yar Khan, shouting slogans and desecrated idols in the place of worship. Pakistani lawmaker and Hindu community leader Ramesh Kumar Vankwani shared videos of the incident. In one of the videos, the mob can be seen destroying the infrastructure of the temple.