Parents of converted Hindu girl change home due to fear in Pakistan

Karachi: The parents of a 16-year-old Hindu girl who was allegedly abducted and converted before being married to a Muslim man in Pakistan have changed their location due to fear, a media report has said.

Ravita Meghwar was abducted by some men from the influential Syed community in Tharparkar's Nagarparkar area in the southeast Sindh province on June 6, creating an uproar among the minority community.

Her parents said that they have changed their location fearing they might be attacked by the family of their daughter's so-called husband, Geo TV reported.

Meghwar's parents said they moved from Wanharo village to Mithhi after they raised their voice against a man, nearly double the girl's age, kidnapped their daughter, forcefully converted her to Islam and married her, the report said.

A court has summoned both the parties on June 30. The girl's mother wanted the police to take Meghwar in their protective custody until the hearing day, but the police said they cannot take action against the "couple".

The Hindu community, along with the girl's family, has insisted that she was kidnapped and forcefully converted.

Her father Satram Das Meghwar alleged that influential members of the Syed community had kidnapped his daughter after giving sleeping pills to the family.
He alleged that despite frequent appeals, Thar police did not take any action to trace the girl till she was forced to convert.

However, the girl said that she had not been kidnapped but eloped with Ali Nawaz Shah. She and her husband have requested the Hyderabad bench of Sindh High Court to provide them protection.

The PML-N member of national assembly from Thar and chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, has expressed his concern over the alleged abduction and the subsequent conversion of Ravita.

Scores of people have questioned the validity of the marriage certificate issued by the cleric and condemned the incident on social media, demanding a probe into the incident.