What transpired in Sindh Assembly on Tuesday was nothing short of a tragedy. In an ideal world, there would have been no need for MPA Nand Kumar Goklani to go on a bent knee for the plight of his community. Our founding father had envisioned a tolerant Pakistan when he asserted, “You are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques.” Alas! He could not crystal ball the thorny image of religious conversion! More heart-wrenching was the fact that his resolution was drowned amid a ruckus by legislators over coronavirus-mandated restrictions. Mr Goklani was not building castles in the air. His bill had come in the backdrop of at least five cases of forced conversion in the last few weeks alone. Sadly, for the third time, his voice was deferred. A typical move by a government known for its shameful capitulation. Wasn’t it the same PPP government that backtracked historic legislation passed in 2016 (stipulating 18 years as the minimum age for the life-changing decision of faith conversion)? Later in 2019, a revised version of the same bill met a similar end due to the furore by religious parties. The fact that lawlessness reigns supreme despite us being a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights speaks volume about the unrestrainable influence of some quarters on key policy matters. Has it occurred to any defendant of new admissions to faith, why it is largely the underage girls who are converting to Islam? Something much more sinister is unfolding behind the scenes. In stark contrast to the religious tolerance preached by both the Holy Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH), power and politics go hand in hand with the exploitation of these vulnerable daughters of our land. Sindh’s Child Marriages Restraint Act mandates fines and prison terms for anyone who facilitates a union involving a minor. But still, the courts have been seen to look the other way whenever families of “runaway brides” cry about the forcible conversion of their underage daughters. There is no denying the prime responsibility of spreading the teachings of religion that every Muslim has been entrusted with. But similarly irrefutable is the tiring and relentless struggle by Sufis in propagating the true spirit of Islam across the subcontinent! In our holier-than-thou crusade, have we simply obliterated the oft-quoted Quranic passage (2:256) 2:256) that famously declared, “There is no compulsion in religion?” Only last year, a Christian girl made headlines when she had sought a court injunction against the registration of a kidnapping case against her husband and his family. Despite evidence of her being mere 13 years, she had claimed to be a legal adult before the bench. Despite a sit-in by over 2000 Hindus two years earlier, Islamabad High Court ruled that Reena and Raveena, twi Hindu girls, had willingly converted to Islam and married out of love. Given the apostasy law, no one could come to their relief thereafter. There is simply no going back! Quite regretfully, there is no reckoning why young girls suddenly decide to fall in love with Muslim men, most of whom already have wives and children. Isn’t this an antithesis of the Bollywood-inspired fascinations that most teenagers grow up with? There is nothing more dark and dreary than sending a chilling message to parents that their daughters are not safe. Unless our society puts an end to the impunity accorded to cases involving faith, the white in our flag cannot be convinced otherwise. *