Washington [US], January 16 (ANI): Human Right Focus Pakistan condemned the murder of a Christian minor girl, who was kidnapped while coming back from the hospital, and urged authorities to bring justice to the victim and her father, according to the statement released by HRFP. The victim was identified as Gulnaz, who was kidnapped on December 25 while she was coming back from the hospital with her father. Her father was also kidnapped. She went to the hospital after complaining about some pain in her stomach.

Earlier, on January 1, the family of the victim informed the police that they found the dead body on December 27 2022, from the linked canal. According to the statement, “Saiqa Hamid, sister of Gulnaz asked relatives to find both. Shan Masih nephew of Gul Hamid started finding both of them but when he was unable to locate them from the hospital or on the way to the hospital, he registered First Information Report (FIR) at a local police station under section 365 PPC (Kidnapping).”

“HRFP team fact-finding the case, visited the family at their home, met the police, visited the hospital and enquired about the incident from different people around. As stated in FIR, both were kidnapped and after assaulting Gulnaz she was murdered. HRFP ensured to victim’s family for legal support and other immediate assistance throughout until Gul Hamid would be found, and the perpetrators were brought to justice,” the statement added.

Naveed Walter, president of HRFP said the abductions of Christian girls have not been stopped or slowed down yet. The minorities’ situation remained the same as it has been worsened before. Gulnaz is a new case, but the format of targeted crime is the same as has happened multiple times with minority girls and their families.

Gul Hamid her father is still missing, he could be under detention by kidnappers or may be killed, and the family is doubtful about him. Naveed Walter said if this case is not resolved by quick actions of the government, the culprits could be encouraged for more same crimes with soft targets of minority girls, he added, as per the statement. The year 2022 has been alarming for Pakistan’s religious minorities.

In September, members of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) asked the Pakistan government to come up with timely reforms and legislative changes on human rights issues and turn them into concrete improvements, especially the prevention of any misuse of blasphemy laws, reported The Express Tribune.

Minority rights in Pakistan were a heated topic for discussion throughout 2022. The year started with a Sri Lankan national being lynched and his body set on fire by a mob in Sialkot. A month later, a man accused of burning pages of the Holy Quran was tortured and killed by a mob in Punjab’s Khanewal district, according to The Express Tribune. (ANI)

Alarm raised over religious conversions of underage girls in Pakistan

Geneva [Switzerland], January 17 (ANI): Expressing alarm at the reported rise in forced marriages and conversions of underage girls from religious minorities in Pakistan, UN experts on Monday called for immediate efforts to curtail the practices and ensure justice for victims.
Special Rapporteurs and other independent experts – such as the five endorsing Monday’s statement from the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls – are part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.

“We urge the Government to take immediate steps to prevent and thoroughly investigate these acts objectively and in line with domestic legislation and international human rights commitments. Perpetrators must be held fully accountable,” the experts said, as quoted in a statement by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement. “We are deeply troubled to hear that girls as young as 13 are being kidnapped from their families, trafficked to locations far from their homes, made to marry men sometimes twice their age, and coerced to convert to Islam, all in violation of international human rights law,” the experts said. “We are very concerned that such marriages and conversions take place under threat of violence to these girls and women or their families.”

Noting Pakistan‘s previous attempts to pass legislation prohibiting forced conversions and protecting religious minorities, the UN experts deplored the lack of access to justice for victims and their families.

According to UN Human Rights Office, reports suggest these so-called marriages and conversions take place with the involvement of religious authorities and the complicity of security forces and the justice system. Writing for the Bitter Winter online magazine, Italian sociologist of religions, Massimo Introvigne argued that sexual relationships with underage girls, even if “voluntary” or after a “religious marriage,” should in theory be regarded as statutory rape in Pakistan. “However, both the police and courts do not prosecute the kidnappers and “husbands,” and are happy to accept videos made or statements signed under duress where the girls claim that they are of age and consented to the “marriages.” Courts also accept documents that are obviously false, or ask friendly doctors to determine the “biological age” of girls that are then declared fit to marry,” he added.

According to the UN, these reports also indicate that the court system enables these offences by accepting, without critical examination, fraudulent evidence from perpetrators regarding victims’ adulthood, voluntary marriage, and conversion. Pakistan courts have occasionally misused religious law interpretations to justify victims remaining with their abusers, according to UN Human Rights Office statement.

“Family members say that victims’ complaints are rarely taken seriously by the police, either refusing to register these reports or arguing that no crime has been committed by labelling these abductions as “love marriages,” the experts said. “Abductors force their victims to sign documents which falsely attest to their being of legal age for marriage as well as marrying and converting of free will. These documents are cited by the police as evidence that no crime has occurred.”

The experts said it was imperative that all victims, regardless of religious background, are afforded access to justice and equal protection under the law “Pakistani authorities must adopt and enforce legislation prohibiting forced conversions, forced and child marriages, kidnapping, and trafficking, and abide by their international human rights commitments to combat slavery and human trafficking and uphold the rights of women and children,” they said. (ANI)

Pakistan: UN experts urge action on coerced religious conversions, forced marriage

Geneva [Switzerland], January 17 (ANI): The United Nations on Monday expressed alarm at the spike in the number of abductions, forced marriages, and conversions of minor women from religious minorities in Pakistan and called for immediate efforts to prevent this crime and ensure justice for victims, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.
“We urge the government to take immediate steps to prevent and thoroughly investigate these acts objectively and in line with domestic legislation and international human rights commitments. Perpetrators must be held fully accountable,” a statement quoted the experts as saying.

“We are deeply troubled to hear those girls as young as 13 are being kidnapped from their families, trafficked to locations far from their homes, made to marry men sometimes twice their age, and coerced to convert to Islam, all in violation of international human rights law,” it said.
The experts also said that they are concerned that such marriages and conversions that are taken under threat of violence.
Noting Pakistan’s previous attempts to pass legislation that will prohibit forced conversions and protect religious minorities, the experts deplored the ongoing lack of access to justice for victims and their families.

Reports suggest these so-called marriages and conversions take place with the involvement of religious authorities and the complicity of security forces and the justice system, according to the statement. These reports also indicate that the court system enables these offences by accepting, without critical examination, fraudulent evidence from perpetrators regarding victims’ adulthood, voluntary marriage, and conversion. Courts have on occasion misused interpretations of religious law to justify victims remaining with their abusers.

The experts also said the victims’ complaints are rarely taken seriously by the police, either refusing to register these reports or arguing that no crime has been committed. They also labelled such marriages as “love marriages,” the experts said. “Abductors force their victims to sign documents which falsely attest to their being of legal age for marriage and marrying and converting of free will. These documents are cited by the police as evidence that no crime has occurred,” the statement quoted the experts as saying.

The experts said it was imperative that all victims, regardless of religious background, are afforded access to justice and equal protection under the law. They suggested that Pakistani authorities must adopt and enforce legislation prohibiting forced conversions, forced and child marriages, kidnapping, and trafficking, and abide by their international human rights commitments to combat slavery and human trafficking and uphold the rights of women and children. (ANI)