Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a judicial officer and a member of the National Assembly from the ruling party have forced a 17-year- old Hindu girl to convert to Islam after her abduction by notorious gangsters. After her forced marriage her whereabouts are unknown. When the Hindu girl was produced before the judicial magistrate where she denied her consent to the marriage and revealed her willingness to go home the judicial officer said that in Islam the home of a newly married girl was the home of her husband and she was not allowed to go to her parents. She was also repeatedly slapped in the court by a member of the National Assembly for denying the conversion to Islam.
The president of Pakistan took notice of the case but in a move to appease the fundamentalists he avoided taking any action against the religious groups.
The Hindu community throughout the country is protesting against the inaction by the government. They say that fundamentalist Islamic organizations and the government of Pakistan are forcing them to leave the country.
CASE NARRATIVE:
Ms. Rinkle Kumari, (17), a Hindu girl living in Mirpur Mathelo; a small city of Sindh province and the daughter of a school teacher, was abducted on the night of 23 February by notorious gangsters of the area with the help of a member of the National Assembly from ruling party and local Muslim fundamentalist groups. Following her abduction she was forced to embrace Islam.
According to the information received, Naveed Shah, a member of a famous criminal group of Hassam Kalwarh, along with more than dozen persons abducted Kumari from her house on 23 February. They kidnapped her at gunpoint and took her to the resident of Mian Abdul Haq, alias Mian Mithhu, the member of the National Assembly from the ruling party, the Pakistan Peoples’ Party. She was then taken to a famous Madressa at Dargah Aalia Qadria Bharchoondi Sharif where she had forced to sign the marriage certificate (Nikkah Nama) and married with Naveed Shah, a street gangster. The Madressa is famous for converting Hindu girls in the province which claims that it has the target to convert 2000 Hindus every year to Islam.
Ms. Kumari’s uncle, Daya Raam, lodge an FIR no. 21/21012 in Mirpur Mathelo Police Station. Initially the police was reluctant to register the case against the influential and powerful people but later on due to immense pressure from the Hindu Community and Media, they were forced to register the FIR on February 24.
Ms. Kumari was recovered by the Police and then presented before the civil court, where she pleaded in front of the civil judge to go be allowed to return to her parents. According to law in under section 164 of Pakistan Penal Code, a statement before the magistrate, she needed to be present with the two parties in the presence of their lawyers, in the first session she informed her parents that she was not willing to marry Naveed Shah and she was pressurized to convert to Islam.
She informed them that she was abducted by Naveed Shah and other men with Hassam Kalwarh, a notorious gangster, who came through the roof of their house to kidnap her. In the year 2000, Hassam Kalwarh was arrested by the police and on the orders of the court he was paraded on a donkey through the streets after black colour was put on his face. This man is a favourite of Muslim fundamentalist groups for helping them to kidnap Hindu girls and forcing them to convert to Islam. During the court proceedings she cried out and pleaded to the civil judge that she wants to live with her parents.
Mian Abdul Haq alias Mian Mittho the member of National Assembly slapped her repeatedly infront of the judge and threatened her not to give any statement in their favour and she has become Muslim and could not go to her family back otherwise her family has to bear dire consequences. But the court was failed to get her confessional statement under section 164 and instead of sending her to her parent’s house sent her to a women police station, Sukkur district.
On 26 February the President of Pakistan took notice of the prevailing case but avoided to take any action against the fundamentalist groups.
When the police was informed that the president of Pakistan has taken notice of the incident they, in an effort to please the perpetrators, particularly the member of the National Assembly, suddenly took her from Sukkur women’s’ police station, Sukkur city at 2 am in the night to a far flung area, the Mathelo, 35 kilometers away from Sukkur city. Due to the depilated condition of the roads it takes more than one and half hours to reach Mathelo from Sukkur.
The next morning the lawyers and family members of Kumari came to know that she was sent to Mathelo court and then they hurriedly went there but the police had put barricaded the roads leading towards the court with oil and water tankers. The fundamentalists, who were heavily armed, however, were allowed to enter the court in hundreds. When the family members and their lawyers were able to reach the court at around 8.45 am they found there was jubilation with aerial firing by the Muslim groups after she had been declared Muslim.
The court proceeding was started at 8.15 and within no time the civil Judge announced that she has embraced Islam. Still no confessional statement had been taken under section 164 by the court. The court was full of fundamentalists and gangsters who were chanting slogans in favour of Islam. She repeatedly told the court, according to court staff, that she wanted to go to her parents but the judge declared that the home of the husband was the proper home of a newly married girl.
Eventually the judge gave the decision in favour of the perpetrators and Ms. Kumari was handed over to the Haq’s men without consulting her parents. Again justice has surrendered before injustice and the rule of law has been violated.
After the court’s announcement the girl was whisked away by the perpetrators and since then her whereabouts are unknown. The girl’s father told that he and his family was pressurised and threatened by the political and criminal elements to accept the decision of the court or else he will have to face the bitter consequences and they also have to fear for their lives if they disobeyed them.
The Hindu community throughout the country is agitating against the forced conversion to Islam and the abduction of Hindu girls by the powerful persons, legislator and fundamentalist groups.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Mian Abdul Haq alias Mian Mittho, a member of National Assembly, from the ruling party, runs the gangs of criminals with the help of local administration and notorious Muslim fundamentalist groups and involved in many criminal activities. His father, Mian Abdul Rahim was also involved in the murder of a Hindu freedom fighter, Mr. Kanwar Ram, in 1939 and for his sectarian killings he was rewarded with the agriculture lands by the colonial power.
Young Hindu girls are being kidnapped and converted to Islam after they are subjected to forced marriage with Muslim boys. This practice has created resentment among the minority communities living in Sindh.
Rinkle Kumari’s case is one of the hundreds of cases brought into the knowledge of people around the world by the AHRC. Around 20 to 25 forced conversions take place every month in Sindh. It is feared that a situation is being created which may force Hindus to leave Sindh, but, according to the Hindu communities, they would prefer to die rather than migrate. This situation can worsen the social values of Sindh, where people are still living without any discrimination. Even there are hundreds and thousands of examples prevailing in Sindh where people from all religions, clans still live together without any discrimination. There are even places in Sindh where Hindu and Muslims worship together.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the letters, mentioned below, to the authorities calling them to initiate an impartial inquiry in to the matters of forced conversion to Islam by the powerful people, fundamentalist groups and police. Please urge them to prosecute the Mian Mitho, the civil magistrate of Ghotki district and incharge of Bharchundi Madressa and the other perpetrators for abduction of the Hindu girls and forcing them to convert their religion.
The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Religion and violence against women calling for their intervention into this matter.
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To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
PAKISTAN: The failure of the judicial system -- another Hindu girl was forcibly converted to Islam and her whereabouts are unknown
Name of victim: Ms. Rinkle Kumari, daughter of Nand Lal, resident of Mirpur Mathelo, Sindh, Pakistan
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Naveed Shah, resident of Mirpur Mathelo, Ghotki district, Sindh province,
2. Mian Abdul Haq alias Mian Mitthan, member of the National Assembly, Pakistan People's Party, the ruling party of the country and resident of Mirpur Mathelo, Ghotki district, Sindh province,
3. Mian Aslam, son of Mian Mittho, resident of Mirpur Mathelo, Ghotki district, Sindh province,
4. Mr. Allah Warayo Dayo, Civil Judge, Ghotki district, Sindh province
Date of incident: 23Febraury 2011
Place of incident: Mirpur Mathelo, district Ghotki, Sindh province
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the abduction of a 17-year-old girl who was then forced to convert to Islam and forcibly married to a gangster.
Ms. Rinkle Kumari, (17), a Hindu girl living in Mirpur Mathelo; a small city of Sindh province and the daughter of a school teacher, was abducted on the night of 23 February by notorious gangsters of the area with the help of a member of the National Assembly from ruling party and local Muslim fundamentalist groups. Following her abduction she was forced to embrace Islam.
It was very shocking for me to know that a legislator from the ruling party was involved in illegal and unconstitutional actions to force the religious minority groups to change their religion.
It is also very surprising for me that the government and even the president knows about the case and the involvement of one of his legislators but no action has been taken against him, the local police officials and the leaders of the Madressa Bhurchundi including other perpetrators.
According to the information received, Naveed Shah, a member of a famous criminal group of Hassam Kalwarh, along with more than dozen persons abducted Kumari from her house on 23 February. They kidnapped her at gunpoint and took her to the resident of Mian Abdul Haq, alias Mian Mithhu, the member of the National Assembly from the ruling party, the Pakistan Peoples' Party. She was then taken to a famous Madressa at Dargah Aalia Qadria Bharchoondi Sharif where she had forced to sign the marriage certificate (Nikkah Nama) and married with Naveed Shah, a street gangster. The Madressa is famous for converting Hindu girls in the province which claims that it has the target to convert 2000 Hindus every year to Islam.
I was informed that Ms. Kumari was recovered by the Police and then presented before the civil court, where she pleaded in front of the civil judge to go be allowed to return to her parents. According to law in under section 164 of Pakistan Penal Code, a statement before the magistrate, she needed to be present with the two parties in the presence of their lawyers, in the first session she informed her parents that she was not willing to marry Naveed Shah and she was pressurized to convert to Islam.
It is to be mentioned here that Kumari when informed the court that she was abducted by Naveed Shah and other men with Hassam Kalwarh, a notorious gangster, who came through the roof of their house to kidnap her, the court just ignored her plea and followed the instructions from the member of National Assembly.
In the year 2000, Hassam Kalwarh was arrested by the police and on the orders of the court he was paraded on a donkey through the streets after black colour was put on his face. This man is a favourite of Muslim fundamentalist groups for helping them to kidnap Hindu girls and forcing them to convert to Islam. During the court proceedings she cried out and pleaded to the civil judge that she wants to live with her parents.
I am shocked to know that Mian Abdul Haq alias Mian Mittho the member of National Assembly slapped her repeatedly infront of the judge and threatened her not to give any statement in their favour and she has become Muslim and could not go to her family back otherwise her family has to bear dire consequences. But the court was failed to get her confessional statement under section 164 and instead of sending her to her parent's house sent her to a women police station, Sukkur district.
How a legislator from the ruling party dictates the court and government remained silent on this illegal and unconstitutional behavior of the member of National Assembly? Is it the policy of the government or of the ruling party?
I was informed that on 26 February the President of Pakistan took notice of the prevailing case but avoided to take any action against the fundamentalist groups.
When the police was informed that the president of Pakistan has taken notice of the incident they, in an effort to please the perpetrators, particularly the member of the National Assembly, suddenly took her from Sukkur women's' police station, Sukkur city at 2 am in the night to a far flung area, the Mathelo, 35 kilometers away from Sukkur city. Due to the depilated condition of the roads it takes more than one and half hours to reach Mathelo from Sukkur.
The next morning the lawyers and family members of Kumari came to know that she was sent to Mathelo court and then they hurriedly went there but the police had put barricaded the roads leading towards the court with oil and water tankers. The fundamentalists, who were heavily armed, however, were allowed to enter the court in hundreds. When the family members and their lawyers were able to reach the court at around 8.45 am they found there was jubilation with aerial firing by the Muslim groups after she had been declared Muslim.
I am told that the court proceeding was started at 8.15 and within no time the civil Judge announced that she has embraced Islam. Still no confessional statement had been taken under section 164 by the court. The court was full of fundamentalists and gangsters who were chanting slogans in favour of Islam. She repeatedly told the court, according to court staff, that she wanted to go to her parents but the judge declared that the home of the husband was the proper home of a newly married girl.
Eventually the judge gave the decision in favour of the perpetrators and Ms. Kumari was handed over to the Haq's men without consulting her parents. Again justice has surrendered before injustice and the rule of law has been violated.
After the court's announcement the girl was whisked away by the perpetrators and since then her whereabouts are unknown. The girl's father told that he and his family was pressurised and threatened by the political and criminal elements to accept the decision of the court or else he will have to face the bitter consequences and they also have to fear for their lives if they disobeyed them.
The Hindu community throughout the country is agitating against the forced conversion to Islam and the abduction of Hindu girls by the powerful persons, legislator and fundamentalist groups.
I therefore urge you to initiate an impartial inquiry in to the matters of forced conversion to Islam by powerful people, fundamentalist groups and police. Please prosecute Mian Mitho, the civil magistrate of Ghotki district and incharge of Bharchundi Madressa and the other perpetrators for abduction of the Hindu girls and forcing them to convert their religion. I urge you to recover Rinkle Kumari and allow her to settle at her parents' home. Please also ban the Madressa at Bhurchundi and recover all those Hindu girls who were sold to criminal elements in the name of Islam.
Yours sincerely,
----------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Asif Ali Zardari
President
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel:+ 92-51-9204801-9214171
Fax: + 92-51-9207458
Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk
2. Mr. Yousuf Raza Gillani,
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk
3. Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9204108
Email: sarfaraz_yousuf@yahoo.com
4. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
5. Mr. Rehman Malik
Minister for Interior
R Block Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9212026 +92 51 9212026
Fax: +92 51 9202624
E-mail: ministry.interior@gmail.com or interior.complaintcell@gmail.com
6. Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan
Governor of Sindh province
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 5043
Tel: +92 21 920 1201 +92 21 920 1201 +92 21 920 1201 +92 21 920 1201
E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk
7. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
Chief Minister
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
Email: pressecy@cmsindh.gov.pk
8. Mr. Justice Musheer Alam
The Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
E-mail: registrar@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk
9. Ms. Nadia Gabol
Minister for Human Rights
Government of Sindh,
Pakistan secretariat, Barrack 92
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9207044
Tel: +92 21 9207043 +92 21 9207043 +92 21 9207043 +92 21 9207043
E-mail: lukshmil@yahoo.com
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
