Despite the hefty claims made by Imran Khan-led government on the safety and security of the minority communities in his ‘Naya Pakistan’, reports on religious persecution and atrocities committed on Hindus, Sikhs and Christians in our neighbouring country continues to pour in. Only yesterday, Pakistani Human rights activist Rahat Austin took to Twitter to share details of a Hindu girl named Miza Kumari, the daughter of Rattan Lal who was abducted, raped and forcefully converted to Islam to marry a Muslim man in Bahu Bhati village in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan.
The activist shared a video in which the girl’s parents, who belong to an extremely humble background are heard pleading for help. We’ll kill ourselves if our daughter is not given back. We are poor, we can’t fight with culprits, no one is helping us in Pakistan. We request, who watching this video to help us”, said the distraught mother of Miza Kumari in the video message.
We’ll kill ourselves if our daughter is not given back. We are poor, we can’t fight with culprits, no one is helping us in Pakistan. We request, who watching this video to help us” Says Hindu Parents, Rattan Lal & his wife, their daughter Miza is taken for rape & conert to Islam pic.twitter.com/XJYiPyxuXS
— Rahat Austin (@johnaustin47) January 1, 2021
Divulging other details of the case, Rahat Austin in his subsequent Tweet wrote that the Pakistan authorities, instead of helping the devastated parents of the girl who has been missing since she was abducted on August 27, 2020, have registered a false case against Rattan Lal (the victim’s father).
Instead police help poor Hindus, false case registered against them to stop demanding their daughter back, now running from police. Marriage certificate & conversion certificate both are fake as they lie about religion & cast of girl. Marriage happen before Conversion is illegal pic.twitter.com/fqFicEgdMW
— Rahat Austin (@johnaustin47) January 2, 2021
Rahat Austin further informs that though the girl was forcefully converted on September 2, 2020, the conversion certificate and the marriage certificate both were fake.
Firstly, the conversion and marriage certificate mentioned that the girl was a Christian, but she is actually a Hindu. Since the certificates had wrong credentials, Rahat Austin contended that the conversion and marriage both were invalid. Secondly, the marriage was solemnised on September 1, 2020, a day before the girl was converted. According to orthodox Islamic laws, a Muslim man is prohibited to marry a non-Muslim until the latter converts to Islam, therefore technically this marriage was void, said Rahat Austin.
Sharing the details of this case, Rahat Austin once again brings to fore the ongoing egregious violations of human rights in the terror state of Pakistan and highlights the apathy shown by the authorities to penalize extremists or those targeting religious minorities.
