ASIA/PAKISTAN - Conversions and forced marriages legitimized by the High Court

Karachi (Agenzia Fides) - Protest and disappointment among the Hindu and Christian religious minorities after a judgment of the High Court of Sindh province, in the south of Pakistan: the court has effectively legitimized the forced conversion to Islam and marriage of a minor Hindu with a rich Muslim man. As Fides learns, the man Riaz Sial married the 12-year-old Hindu girl Angeli Maghward, after convincing her to convert to Islam.
The girl's parents have filed a complaint pursuant to the fact that the girl was underage and was "forcibly converted". The Court established the legitimacy of all, and the agreement signed between the man and the girl was seen as valid. The minorities big disappointment is explained by Christian lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill to Fides: "We have no problem to admit the legitimacy of a conversion to another faith, on the basis of free will, or to admit a marriage based on free consent. But when someone is kidnapped, forcibly converted and forced to marry, it is difficult to ask minorities and human rights activists for peace and tranquility". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 17/01/2015)