The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday, while hearing a petition filed by two Ghotki sisters who were allegedly forcibly converted from Hindusim and married to Muslim men, ordered the state to take over custody of the girls and ensure their safety till their case is decided.
The petition, filed by the girls and their spouses Safdar Ali and Barkat Ali, has sought protection from adverse action. It states that the girls left their home on March 20. On March 22, after announcing that they had willingly converted, the girls sought legal help.
According to the petition, the two girls were born in a Hindu family and converted because they were "impressed by Islamic teachings". It claimed that they did not inform their family because of threats to their lives.
They claimed that MNA Ramesh Kumar Vankwani and Hari Lal from the Hindu Council had concocted "a false and fabricated story" about their forceful conversion.
The petitioners subsequently left their native town of Ghotki in Sindh and travelled to Khanpur in Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab. They travelled to Islamabad after learning that the inspector general of Sindh and Punjab were planning an operation in Khanpur against them and, the petition claimed, feared that the police may kill them if they are apprehended to show "progress" to the governing party.
They asked the court to restrain the respondent authorities ─ the state minister for interior, Sindh chief minister, inspectors general of Sindh, Punjab and Islamabad police, MNA Vankwani and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) ─ from "harassing" and "threatening" them, as well as requesting that Pemra be asked to refrain from "promoting propaganda" against the petitioners.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition in Courtroom 1, where both girls and their alleged spouses were also present. Representatives of the federal government, Islamabad administration, and Sindh police, and the director general Human Rights were all present in court today.
When Justice Minallah inquired about the age of the girls, their lawyer responded that one of the girls was 20-years-old.
"This is an extremely sensitive issue. Pakistan's international standing is tied to it," the judge remarked. "Ensuring the rights of minorities is our responsibility."
He stated that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) had also spoken about the rights of minorities on different occasions.
"I have heard the prime minister has ordered a fair and transparent inquiry into the matter, and that Shireen Mazari is also looking into it," Justice Minallah said.
A government representative told the judge that the inquiry will be completed within a week.
"DC sahab, until the final report is submitted, they [the girls] will remain your guests," Justice Minallah told the official.
The judge ordered the state to take over custody of the girls, and they were subsequently handed over to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat.
"Even if the girls are placed in a shelter home, the federal government must ensure their protection," the judge asserted. "A district and sessions judge will be appointed a guardian in this case."
The IHC chief justice ordered that an SP-rank police officer who is female should appointed on duty with the sisters to ensure their safety.
Both girls were transported to a shelter home from the IHC as the hearing wrapped up.
Their alleged spouses, Barkat and Shafqat, submitted a request for protective bail to the court through their lawyer Umair Baloch. The plea stated that both had been named in the FIR and their arrests should be stopped.
The case was adjourned until April 2.
Brother petitions court for recovery of sisters
Meanwhile, Shaman Das, the girls' brother, approached the LHC's Bahawalpur bench against the regional police officer Bahawalpur, the district police officer Rahim Yar Khan, and the station house officer Khanpur, seeking the immediate recovery of his sisters.
He stated in the petition that his sisters are minors, with one's age 14 or 15, and the other's, 12 or 13.
The petition has been fixed for hearing tomorrow.Two girls of Hindu community, who recently embraced Islam, Monday approached Islamabad High Court (IHC) along with their husbands to seek protection.
The petitioners, Reena and Raveena had stated in their plea that they had embraced Islam with free will.
The application, which has not been accepted for hearing as yet, states that “false propaganda” is being done in the media regarding the alleged forced conversion of the two sisters who are “law-abiding adult citizens”.
They stated that there was a propaganda on media against them which could risk their and their husbands’ lives.
The two sisters stated that they had announced to accept Islam in front of Khanpur Bar Association.
The petition, filed by them through their lawyer Muhammad Umari Baloach, has listed the interior ministry; Sindh chief minister; inspectors general of police of Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad; MNA Ramesh Kumar Vankwani; Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and Hari Lal as respondents.
Nikah Khwan among 7 arrested over alleged abduction
The petitioners say the two sisters had been “impressed by the teachings of Islam since long time” but that they did not disclose their conversion to Islam due to the fear of being killed.
However, on March 22, 2019, the duo formally acknowledged that they have converted to Islam before “numerous lawyers” of the Khanpur Bar, the petition states. The sisters have stated in the application that they were not forced into accepting Islam and that they did so of their own free will.
According to the application, the girls and their purported husbands first moved to Khanpur tehsil of Rahim Yar Khan and upon finding out about a police operation being launched against them, they later moved to Islamabad.
The petition requests the IHC to restrain the government, police and the girls’ father from “harassing” the petitioners for the return of the sisters to their previous family “and their forceful reversion to Hindu religion”. They prayed the court to issue directives for providing them security as their lives were under threat.
Meanwhile, Sindh Police have detained at least seven people, including a Nikah Khwan (marriage officiator), suspected of involvement in the alleged abductions, forced conversions from Hindusim to Islam, and underage marriages of two minor sisters reported in Ghotki.
On Saturday, the government took notice of the incident after two separate videos started doing rounds on social media. The father and brother of the girls in videos circulating on social media said that the two sisters were abducted and forced into changing their religion from Hinduism to Islam. However, a separate video of the girls went viral, in which they said that they accepted Islam of their own free will.
In the video, a cleric can be seen next to the girls and two men who they were married to. The cleric said the girls were inspired by Islam and alleged that their family was spreading “false propaganda” and threatening their lives. On March 20, the girls’ family lodged a First Information Report against their alleged forced conversion to Islam.
Deputy Commissioner Saleemullah Odho and Superintendent Police Farrukh Lanjhar paid a visit to the girls’ father on Sunday night and assured him of the government and police’s full cooperation in the case.
Police on Sunday said they had conducted several raids in Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan district ─ where it was believed the girls were taken from Ghotki ─ and arrested the Nikah Khwan who solemnised their marriages, a leader of the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek, and some relatives of the two men who had married the two girls. The detained suspects were handed over to Sindh police.
SP Lanjhar said that action was being taken on all available information to recover the girls. He was confident that the girls would be recovered soon.
Provincial minister Syed Owais Shah also visited Hari Lal, the father of the two girls. He said that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had contacted his counterpart in Punjab over the issue. He also expressed his hope that the two would be recovered soon.
However, Shiv Lal, a Manghwal community leader, described the assurances as lip service. He said that if the girls had embraced Islam, they should be produced before a court of law. He said that their alleged forced conversion and marriages would be challenged in the court, as both the girls are under 18 years of age.
Apparently dissatisfied with the police efforts, a group of Manghwal community members staged a protest sit-in in front of the Daharki police station on Monday. Holding placards, they said that the two girls had not been recovered despite the passage of six days and that the police was only giving them assurances.
During the protest, the girls’ father attempted self-immolation by pouring petrol on himself, however, he was saved by other demonstrators. It asks the court to order the government to take steps for the protection of the two girls and direct Pemra to “restrain misreporting” on the case.
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