Two Hindu girls were abducted and forced to convert to Islam from Ghotki district in Sindh.
The Sindh assembly has been asked by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan to pass a bill criminalising forced conversions.
HRCP said “it is imperative this bill be passed and steps taken to implement it. At present, forced conversions are too easily and too often disguised as voluntary conversions, leaving minor girls especially vulnerable. The two young girls reportedly abducted in Ghotki are a case in point. It is shocking that families were unable to lodge an FIR. This should be the first line of defence in all such cases.”
It further read “The state has a responsibility to all its citizens to protect their freedom of religion or belief. This implies serious introspection into why the 2016 bill against forced conversions was not ratified by the governor at the time, Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui. No reasons were given, nor is it clear whether he returned the bill officially or left it pending. Equally, the Sindh government should not have given in to the pressure from a minority of religious parties who had objected to the bill.”