KARACHI: Two minor Hindu sisters, who were allegedly kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam and married off to much older Muslim men, have been allowed to return home to their parents by the Sindh High Court.
The two sisters, aged 14 and 13, were allegedly abducted on August 29 from near their home in Ibrahim Colony in Tando Allahyar in the Sindh province. They were allegedly forcibly converted to Islam and then married off to much older Muslim men.
The Hyderabad bench of the Sindh High Court on Monday allowed them to return home to their parents. An FIR has also been registered against two accused men.
The sisters, who were rescued in September, were thrice presented before a session court in Tando Allahyar and pleaded to go with their parents, but the judge sent them to the women’s shelter home instead.
Shiva Kaachi, who heads a Hindu community welfare NGO called Pakistan Darawar Ittehad, said that after much effort, the case was finally heard by the Sindh High Court and it allowed the girls to go with their parents.
Advocate Sanjay Sharma, who represented the aggrieved family, said the sisters were finally reunited with their family. He claimed he was representing several other Hindu families who have had their daughters or sisters abducted and forcibly married off to Muslim men.
Kaachi said that Pakistan Darawar Ittehad has consistently struggled for the rights of poor, marginalised, vulnerable, and disadvantaged communities across Sindh.
“We have always maintained that violation of fundamental rights of minor girls cannot be tolerated,” he said, adding that the government, police and relevant authorities must take effective measures to prevent the abduction of minor girls, forced religious conversions and child marriages.
