India summons Pakistan High Commission official
NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday summoned a senior official of the Pakistan High Commission and issued a strong demarche over the abduction of a Hindu girl from her wedding in Sindh province, official sources said.
India also asked the Pakistan government to investigate the matter and take urgent action for protecting and promoting the security, safety and welfare of its citizens including the minority Hindu community there.
It called on Pakistan to take immediate measures to expeditiously bring the perpetrators of such despicable and heinous acts to justice.
“India summoned a senior official from the Pakistan High Commission and made a strong demarche against abduction of a girl from Hindu minority from her marriage ceremony on January 25, with the help of local police in Hala city of Sindh province,” an official source said.
India also issued a demarche regarding the desecration of Mata Rani Bhatiyani temple in Tharparkar, Sindh province, on January 26.
The 24-year-old Hindu girl was allegedly abducted by armed assailants from her wedding venue and forcibly converted to Islam before being married off to a Muslim man, community members said, in the latest such incident in the neighbouring country.
Sindh Minister for Minorities Affairs, Hari Ram Kishori, on Tuesday took cognisance of the incident, which took place last week in Hala town of Matiari district in Sindh province, and asked for a police report.
The All Pakistan Hindu
Council (APHC) on Sunday said Bharti Bai was abducted from her wedding ceremony last week and then married off to Shahruk Gul after being forcibly converted to Islam.
Meanwhile, Gul has posted pictures of documents on social media showing that Bharti converted to Islam in December 2019 and had taken the name Bushra.
According to documents, her conversion took place at the Jamiat-ul-uloom Islamia in Banori town in Karachi.
Police are investigating whether the girl travelled to Karachi around the dates mentioned in the certificate.
Hindus, which comprise approximately 2 per cent of Pakistan’s population, are mainly concentrated in Sindh province. There have been periodic reports of their forced conversion to Islam.