Pak Hindu girls forced to convert to Islam

Mid day ^ | November 13, 2005 | Hasan Mansoor

[Gengis Khan]

 Pak Hindu girls forced to convert to Islam
   By: Hasan Mansoor
   November 13, 2005

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When a Hindu girl is converted to Islam, hundreds of extremists belonging to religious parties such as Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI), take to the streets and chant religious slogans

Karachi: An alarming trend — that of Muslims kidnapping Pakistani Hindu girls and forcing them to convert to Islam — in Pakistan’s Sindh province is forcing the worried resident Hindu community to marry off their daughters as soon as they are of marriageable age or to migrate to India, Canada or other nations.

Recently, at least 19 such abduction cases have occurred in Karachi alone, while several others have been reported in the media.

Sanao Menghwar, a Hindu resident of Karachi’s Punjab Colony, is a traumatised man; all three of his daughters —Aishwarya, Reena and Reema — have been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam.

In the police complaint that he filed at the behest of the Panchayat after two days of futile searching for his daughters, he stated that when he and his wife returned home from work, they discovered their daughters had gone missing.

The police arrested three Muslim youths in connection with the crime, who were later granted bail by a court because they’re minors. Menghwar’s daughters continue to remain missing.

“Kidnapping Hindu girls like this has become a normal practice. The girls are then forced to sign stamp papers stating that they’ve become Muslims,” says Laljee Menghwar, a member of the Hindu Panchayat in Karachi.

According to him, the Pakistani government needs to examine and put a stop to the social oppression of religious minorities in the country. “Hindus here are too frightened to vent their anger — they fear victimisation. But we have now decided to go public with these cases and demand justice,” Laljee says. Their cause has found support in the Pakistani Christian community, who carried out a demonstration with them in Karachi, protesting against this crime.

Similarly startling incidents have occurred in several districts of Sindh and evoked identical responses. At least six Hindu girls met this fate a few months ago in Jacobabad (a tribal area heavily inhabited by Hindus) and Larkana districts.

Sapna, the daughter of one Seth Giyanchand, was recently taken to a shrine (Amrote in Shikarpur district) by Shamsuddin Dasti. Dasti, a Muslim friend of Sapna’s brother, is a married man and father of two.

Nevertheless, the custodian of the shrine, Maulvi Abdul Aziz lost no time in converting Sapna to Islam (her names was changed to ‘Mehek’) and marrying her to Dasti. The case came to light only when Sapna’s parents stated that their daughter hadn’t eloped but been abducted.

Human rights activists, such as Nuzhat Shirin who belongs to the Aurat Foundation, says that religious extremism is rapidly increasing in Jacobabad and other Sindh districts.

Extremists in turn encourage shrines, which are involved with forced conversions. When a Hindu girl is converted to Islam, hundreds of extremists belonging to religious parties such as Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI), take to the streets and chant religious slogans.

In Sapna’s case, when she was presented in court with Dasti, extremists showered rose petals on them and loudly chanted religious slogans. The fanaticism was so daunting that Sapna was too frightened to even speak with her own parents who were also present in the courtroom. At that, Maulvi Aziz, who was also standing in the courtroom, was said to have remarked, “How can a Muslim girl live and maintain contact with kafirs (infidels)?”

Sapna’s story sparked widespread demonstrations by the Hindu community. Presidents and mukhis of Panchayats from various towns and districts met in Jacobabad to discuss this serious issue. Activists and leaders from educated segments of society strongly criticised the role of religious leaders, like Maulvi Aziz, in these forced conversion cases.

Still, the threat of victimisation by Muslims is palpable; Shirin says when forced conversion cases make it to court, lawyers themselves avoid taking them up, fearing a backlash from maulvis.

Giyanchand meanwhile has said that he has no other option but to migrate to India — it will be difficult for him to find grooms for his other daughters because of Sapna’s controversial conversion.

And forced conversions are not the only problem that the Hindu minority (there are 2.7 million Hindus in Pakistan; Pakistan’s total population is 140 million) is facing in the country.

A powerful syndicate of bandits and patrons in the northern districts of Sindh regularly kidnap rich Hindus for ransom. They not kill hostages if the ransom doesn’t arrive on time, they even kill some despite their ransom being paid.

Sadham Chand Chawla, the former president of the Hindu Panchayat, Jacobabad, was abducted and murdered. His killers remain at large despite enormous protests. Following his murder, his family had received several threats until they secretly migrated to India.

Kidnap Hindu Girl, Force Marriage to Muslim: Pakistan
By J. Grant Swank Jr. (11/25/05)

Sanao Menghwar has had three of his daughters kidnapped, then forced to marry Muslim men. That means that the young women were coerced into becoming Islamics.

This happens daily, particularly in the Pakistani Sindh province, according to Hasan Mansoor, reporter, Midday.com.

Other Hindus in the province worry when their daughters will disappear. Therefore, there are entire Hindu families leaving Pakistan for Canada, India or other nations.Menghewar and his wife left their house on errands. When they returned to their residence, their daughters were missing. They reported the missing young women to the police department, filing the necessary papers. Neighbors helped them on a search party to locate the daughters, but to no avail.

Menghwar’s daughters have yet to be found. However, authorities have arrested three Islamic young men assumed to be connected with the girls’ kidnapping. The men have been released on bail by a court due to the men being minors.


"’Kidnapping Hindu girls like this has become a normal practice. The girls are then forced to sign stamp papers stating that they’ve become Muslims,’ says Laljee Menghwar, a member of the Hindu Panchayat in Karachi."

Because of Muslim threats, Hindus have had to turn to what those in the Netherlands are resorting to. Both areas have been under extreme pressure from maiming and killing Islamics so that the local citizens have put into action what one person refers to as "self-censorship."

There is no talk. There is no public utterance. There is nothing said negatively about the Muslims in the area for fear of being slain.

So it is that Islamic killers international could overtake country after country, area after area. Instill such fear in the people that no one speaks the facts concerning local Islamics kidnapping and killing; therefore, they have open skies to do just that — more so.

"’Hindus here are too frightened to vent their anger — they fear victimization,’ said one local."

Nevertheless, Pakistani Christian community members have come to their aid. The Christians have organized support for the Hindus persecuted by Muslims. The Christians have "carried out a demonstration with them in Karachi, protesting against this crime.

"Similarly startling incidents have occurred in several districts of Sindh and evoked identical responses. At least six Hindu girls met this fate a few months ago in Jacobabad (a tribal area heavily inhabited by Hindus) and Larkana districts.

"Sapna, the daughter of one Seth Giyanchand, was recently taken to a shrine (Amrote in Shikarpur district) by Shamsuddin Dasti. Dasti, a Muslim friend of Sapna’s brother, is a married man and father of two.

"Nevertheless, the custodian of the shrine, Maulvi Abdul Aziz lost no time in converting Sapna to Islam (her name was changed to ‘Mehek’) and marrying her to Dasti. The case came to light only when Sapna’s parents stated that their daughter hadn’t eloped but had been abducted."

Islamic fanaticism is increasing alarmingly, according to Nuzzhat Shirin of the Aurat Foundation. The fanatics erect shrines that are used in coercing "conversions." When a Hindu is forced to become a Muslim, zealot Islamics gather at the shrines, chanting and singing and marching in the streets.

Such a ruckus is made that if the young kidnapped girl appears in court, the fanatic Muslims yell, scream, throw rose petals into the air and follow the youth into the building so that she is so intimidated that she can hardly speak.

It is Muslim winning by intimidation. It is Muslim overcoming a culture by threatening. It is by Islamics abducting young girls that an entire community is snuffed out by moving away or succumbing to the Muslim murderers global.


"The threat of victimization by Muslims is palpable; Shirin says when forced conversion cases make it to court, lawyers themselves avoid taking them up, fearing a backlash from maulvis."

It is the same with so-called "honor killing." When Muslim males slay a Hindu female whom they have accused of dishonoring the clan in some way, usually police and media say nothing, looking the other way. Therefore, the slaughtering of innocent females continues daily.

"And forced conversions are not the only problem that the Hindu minority (there are 2.7 million Hindus in Pakistan; Pakistan’s total population is 140 million) is facing in the country.

"A powerful syndicate of bandits and patrons in the northern districts of Sindh regularly kidnap rich Hindus for ransom. They not only kill hostages if the ransom doesn’t arrive on time, they even kill some despite their ransom being paid.

"Sadham Chand Chawla, the former president of the Hindu Panchayat, Jacobabad, was abducted and murdered. His killers remain at large despite enormous protests. Following his murder, his family had received several threats until they secretly migrated to India."

Copyright © 2005 by J. Grant Swank, Jr.

Ed: Views are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of American Daily.

 

Hindu girls increasingly facing abduction in Pak

Karachi: Hindu girls in Pakistan are facing an increasing risk of being abducted, even as one more such case has come to light in the Sindh province’s Nawabshah district. According to the Dawn, a primary school teacher allegedly abducted a Hindu girl Amrita Kumari a few days ago, and the girl has not been traced so far.

The latest abduction case drew the Hindu community to set up a panchayat to air their grievance before the local and provincial governments.

Following the pressure mounted by the Hindu community, the local government of Nawabshah district ordered an inquiry into the alleged kidnapping, while the Sindh government assured “safety and security” for the minority community.

Nawabshah district Nazim Ms Faryal Talpur, while ordering inquiry into the alleged case, said that she was serving the people of Nawabshah “without discrimination” and safety and security of minorities was the responsibility of the district government.

She directed the executive district officer education to coordinate with police officials and if the school-teacher was found guilty, strict disciplinary and departmental action would be taken against him, said the paper.

Meanwhile, the Sindh province government has also directed the provincial police to conduct an inquiry. Ghulam Rasool Unnar, Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Political Affairs said that the Hindu community was “safe and secure” and he had assured them of cooperation and justice.

Hindu Human Rights Protest on Sunday 18 December 2005 to the Pakistan Government for Human Rights Abuses upon the Hindu Minority

The recent upsurge in the kidnappings of Hindu women and girls in Pakistan has raised deep concerns about the rights and future of the Hindu minority in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. (PRWEB) November 22, 2005 -- The recent upsurge in the kidnappings of Hindu women and girls in Pakistan has raised deep concerns about the rights and future of the Hindu minority in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Reports suggest that murders and lootings of Hindus have also been on the increase in Pakistan. Numerous Hindu temples have been vandalised or destroyed in the last few years. The small Hindu minority lives in constant fear of persecution and harassment in Pakistan. Yet the authorities have failed in every case to take action against known criminals and have yet to lift a finger to help find those Hindus who are still missing. Indeed, the constitution and legal system of the country openly discriminates against the Hindu minority. Enough is enough and it is time for all civilised people to stand up and let their voices be heard in a protest to the Pakistani authorities. Before independence from colonial rule, in 1947, Hindus made up approximately 25% of the population of what became Pakistan. Even after the Partition of the Indian Sub-continent, Hindus were still a 15% minority in that region. Today, repeated genocide and ethnic cleansing has forced the number of Hindus down to below 2% of the population – however this represents more than 5 times the number of Hindus living here in the UK. Join us to protest against the ongoing Human Rights abuses against the Hindu minority in Pakistan on Sunday 18 December 2005 from 12 pm onwards outside the Pakistan High Commission, 34-36 Lowndes Square, London. Nearest tube station: Knightsbridge (Piccadilly line). Hindu Human Rights Serving Hindus Worldwide

[Moorings]

Its a terrible crime. Hopefully the perpetrators are brought to justice swiftly, and face the maximum punishment. No one should face this kind of intimidation, whether it is murder or just a "minor" fisticuff.

[Moorings]

Remember, your sources are bad, their sources are very reliable and credible./sarc

[Gengis Khan]

"Remember, your sources are bad, their sources are very reliable and credible./sarc"

I posted this article as reported in four different news websites, two of which are not Indian. I didnt pick it up from some email or some religious site.

As for the credibitlity of WND, Nankana is in Indian right?