Pakistan Turning Blind Eye Toward Atrocities on Minorities, 1,000 Cases of Abduction Annually: Report
Last Updated: February 19, 2023, 14:20 IST
Pakistan recently raised objections against a bill which was meant to protect the rights of the minorities in the country. (Reuters)
There are around 1000 annual cases every year where a Hindu girl is abducted, raped and forcibly married
There have been increasing incidents of abduction of young girls, raping them and converting their religion in Pakistan and the state refuses to intervene on behalf of the victims, a report has claimed.
A report published in Just Earth News has analysed the recent rise of crimes against Hindu minority group in Pakistan and details the ignorance of the Pakistani authorities in such cases.
According to the report, Pakistan recently raised objections against a bill which was meant to protect the rights of the minorities in the country.
The country’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony raised objections to the bill drafted by the Ministry of Human Rights.
The draft of the Prohibition of Forced Conversations Act 2021, meant to protect the Hindu minorities from forced conversions, was dismissed without even a hearing on the legislation.
The country also saw protest last week, when the families of missing Baloch people held a protest in Karachi against the increasing wave of disappearances of Baloch children, women and youth.
The community called for an intervention of the United Nations and other international communities in the interest of justice.
The report said that the practice of abducting young girls, raping them and converting them to Islam has become common in Pakistan.
Though the Pakistani constitution under the Article 20 gives the citizen the right to profess, practice and propagate religion to every citizen, Christian and Hindu young girls and women remain out of its purview.
It further said that media, civil society and human rights group ignore the crime because these girls are from lower economic and minority communities.
The report also quoted instances of the human rights violation where a 15-year-old Christian girl was taken by Muslim man in Faisalabad in 2022. However, there was attention or any action after the incident.
There are around 1000 annual cases every year where a Hindu girl is abducted, raped and forcibly married. The number saw a surge in 2021 where there was an increase of 80 percent and over 50 percent in 2020.
The report said that most of these crimes happen in villages and towns far off from the main cities.
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