Recently we have reported the case of the 17-year-old Pakistani Hindu girl Rinkle Kumari, a resident of Mirpur Mathelo of Sindh Province, who was abducted and converted to Islam. The horrible act was masterminded by the son of a parliamentarian from Ghotki district of Sindh. The case since has been unfolding in shocking manners.

Ms. Kumari, daughter of school teacher Nand Lal, was abducted on the night of 23 February by notorious gangsters of the area with patronage of a member of the National Assembly from the ruling party and of the local Muslim fundamentalist groups. After abduction, she has not only been forced to embrace Islam, but also forcibly married to a Muslim gangster.

According to available information, Naveed Shah, a member of a famous criminal group of Hassam Kalwarh, along with more than dozen persons abducted Kumari from her house at gunpoint and took her to the resident of Mian Abdul Haq, alias Mian Mithhu, the member of the National Assembly from the ruling Pakistan Peoples’ Party. She was then taken to a Madrassa at Dargah Aalia Qadria Bharchoondi Sharif, where she had forced to sign a certificate of marriage (Nikkah Nama) with gangster Naveed Shah.

Madrassa is famous for converting Hindu girls in the province, which claims that it has the target of converting 2000 Hindus every year to Islam.

Ms. Kumari was later recovered by the Police and presented before the civil court, where she pleaded before the judge to let her to return to her parents.

Kumari told 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. During the court proceedings, she cried and pleaded to the judge that she wants to live with her parents.

But the court ignored her plea and followed the instructions of Assembly member Mian Abdul Haq.

It should be noted that Hassam Kalwarh, who was arrested by the police in 2000, and on the orders of the court, he was paraded on a donkey through the streets after black colour was put on his face. He is a favourite of the Muslim fundamentalist groups for helping them kidnap Hindu girls for forcible conversion to Islam.

Shockingly bizarre is the fact that Mian Abdul Haq alias Mian Mittho, a member of National Assembly, slapped her repeatedly in front of the judge and threatened her not to give any statement against her abductors. He also told her that she has become Muslim and could not go back to her family; if she does, her family will have to bear dire consequences.

And following the legislator’s dictation, the judge refused to record Ms. Kumari’s confessional statement. Instead, he announced that she had embraced Islam. Against Kumari’s plea to return to her parents, the judge declared that the home of the husband was the proper home of a newly married girl.

The court proceedings were attended by hundred of heavily-armed Islamic fundamentalists and gangsters, who chanted Islamic slogans. On the second’s day of hearing, when her family members and their lawyers reach the court premises at around 8.45, they found jubilant Muslim crowd firing into air, because the judge had already declared her a Muslim.

She repeatedly told the court that she wanted to return to her parents, which the judge ignored; instead, she was sent to a women police station in Sukkur district.

Bizarre and criminal a case as it is, the perpetrators and the legislator behind her abduction and forcible conversion and marriage are clearly known to the police and the court, but no actions have been initiated against them.

Instead, the innocent victim suffers in police custody, while her family face threats of violence and death.

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Following is a summary of the case, circulated by the Sindhi American Political Action Committee:

The Sindhi American Political Action Committee (SAPAC) was recently informed about the urgent and alarming case of a Hindu girl, Rinkel Kumari, who was abducted by Muslim fanatics from her home in Mirpur Mathelo and forced to convert her religion to Islam. We are in the process of arranging appointments with members of Congress and their staff to discuss Rinkel’s case as well as the plight of minorities in Pakistan. We would like to invite you to join us as we meet with members of Congress.

Sadly, Rinkel Kumari’s is one of many cases of abduction and forced religious conversion in Pakistan. We have gathered some information about Rinkel’s case and the situation of Hindus in Pakistan below:

1. Rinkel Kumari was forcibly abducted from her home in the early hours of February 24, 2012 by Naveed Shah who was accompanied by three other armed men.
2. Rinkel was held in custody by Mian Mohammad Aslam, the son of Pakistan Peoples’ Party MNA Miya Mitho in Bharchundi Shareef where she was forced to marry Naveed Shah and convert to Islam.
3. On the morning of February 24, Daya Ram, Rinkel’s uncle registered an FIR against Naveed Shah.
4. On February 25, Rinkel’s case was brought before a Ghotki civil judge. Rinkel testified that she had been kidnapped and forced to change her religion against her will. However, the judge ruled in favor of Naveed Shah and Rinkel was taken into police custody for two days at Sukkur police station.
5. Rinkel was allegedly threatened while in police custody that if she did not change her statement, she and her family would be killed.
6. On February 27, Rinkel appeared in court again. This time, her relatives were not allowed inside the court. Additionally, there were armed followers of the MNA surrounding the court.
7. During this second hearing, Rinkel was under pressure and changed her statement in favor of Naveed Shah. She was given into his custody. Rinkel’s family is not aware of the whereabouts of their daughter.
8. On March 2, the Hindu community protested in front of the Lahore Press Club against the abductions and forced conversions of Hindu girls to Islam. The family of Rinkel also participated in the protest.
9. Hindus are a minority group in Pakistan, making up approximately 2% of the population.
10. According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), around 20 to 25 forced kidnappings and conversions of Hindu girls take place every month in Sindh.
11. The Hindu American Foundation states that “many Hindus in Pakistan are compelled to pay regular sums, as a type of ransom, to extortionists and local leaders in exchange for the physical security of their families and themselves.”
12. As a result of Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws, minority groups in Pakistan are not free to express their own religions and ideologies without fear of persecution.
13. State sponsored discrimination against minority groups in Pakistan is rampant. This state sponsored discrimination has caused several Hindus to migrate out of Pakistan. In March 2011, Hindu politician in Pakistan Jaipal Chabria, said that “every month a Hindu family leaves for neighboring India. Insecurity, killings, kidnappings and forcible conversion of women to Islam are the major causes.”