Heavy protests were sparked off in Lahore of Pakistan after a Hindu girl was kidnapped in the city. The Hindu community in the Lahore blocked city’s main roads.
A teenaged Hindu girl named Naina was kidnapped by an influential Muslim man named Tahir Tamri, a with the help of his father and brothers last month. The kidnappers took the girl to Karachi and got her to embrace Islam at a seminary, Jamiatul Saeed Gulshan-i-Maima, after marrying her. She was given Muslim name Noor Fatima. The suspect uploaded their marriage and her embracing of Islam on social media.
During the protest, the girl’s father Ragu Ram threatened that he will set himself on fire if justice is not provided. The protesters ended demonstration after police assured them that the justice would be done.
Last month, two Hindu teenage sisters – Raveena (13) and Reena (15) – were allegedly kidnapped in Sindh on the eve of Holi. Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown solemnising the marriage of the two girls, triggering a nationwide outrage.
In its annual report, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) revealed that around 1,000 such cases were reported in the southern Sindh province alone last year. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. Majority of Pakistan’s Hindu population is settled in Sindh province.
According to media reports, approximately 25 forced marriages take place every month only in Umerkot district in Sindh province.
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