ASIA/PAKISTAN - The drama of Christian families who see the kidnapping and conversion of their daughters to Islam in the face of the impunity regarding this crime

Thursday, 28 January 2021 violence   religious freedom   religious minorities   women   christianity   islam   justice   human rights  

Rawalpindi (Agenzia Fides) - Rafique Masih is a Pakistani Christian who, like a heartbroken father, begs the police to find his daughter, who has been kidnapped. As Fides learned, Rafique Masih, who lives in Rawalpindi, said that on January 5, while he was at work, a Muslim, Muhammad Hamza, forcibly entered his home and kidnapped his daughter Mashal, 17 years old, with the help of two accomplices. His other 11-year-old daughter was at home and fled in terror.
Speaking to the police at a police station whose staff is almost entirely made up of Muslims, the girl's father received no help. When he went to Bani Police Station in Rawalpindi to file a complaint about his daughter's kidnapping, instead of filing a First Information Report, the police officers mocked him and refused to fill out any official act. "Since Mashal was kidnapped, the police have shown no interest in recovering her from the hands of her kidnappers. She did not lift a finger", Christian activists told Fides. Rafique accuses the police of deliberately delaying the recovery of his daughter because he is a Christian.
The NGO CLAAS (Center for Legal Aid Assistance & Settlement), which defends the rights of Christians in Pakistan, notes that if nothing is done quickly to recover the young girl, the kidnappers could obtain her certificate of conversion to Islam and possibly her marriage certificate as well as the statement claiming that she converted to Islam and married Mohammad Hamza of her own free will.
"Rafique is a desperate father, who is currently begging the police to help him find his daughter, to do their duty in assisting citizens who suffer violence and are victims of crimes", notes the organization.
Another young Christian girl, Shiza, recently escaped her Muslim kidnappers and posted a video in which she threatens to set herself on fire and commit suicide if she does not get justice. According to her parents, the police are not cooperating and unwilling to register a case to arrest the kidnappers, and even the court of first instance has not examined their petition. Shiza released the video in desperation because she is still traumatized and she says she has lost all hope of justice. Shiza was kidnapped on September 28 by five gunmen who forcibly entered her home in the village in the Faisalabad area. After two months Shiza managed to escape and she returned to her family in November. However, none of the men identified by Shiza have so far been arrested by the police.
Nasir Saeed, Director of the NGO CLAAS, told Fides: "It is a constant: the police do not take these cases seriously and instead of doing their duty and being impartial, they side with the kidnappers and do not take any action until strong pressure comes from above. Police often avoid reporting such cases, believing that they could tarnish Pakistan's image within the international community, which has repeatedly expressed concern over the increased number of cases of forced conversions in Pakistan".
The Director of CLASS continues: "We have recently followed the cases of Huma Younis, Arzoo Raja and Maira Shahbaz, who made headlines in the Christian and secular media of communication at an international level. Christian parents feel helpless and appealed to the President and the Prime Minister, but without getting an answer. Christian parents only want their underage daughters to return home, but the police and the courts do not respect the law and blatantly violate it. For this situation, bitterness and resentment circulate in the Christian community in Pakistan, but everything falls into the oblivion of the authorities".
Saeed concludes: "Christians feel insecure and are concerned for their future in Pakistan because of the government's inaction and indifference to tackling this phenomenon of violence against Christian minorities. If impunity exists, the culprits are encouraged and such cases continue to increase, diminishing the hope of religious minorities".
According to data confirmed to Agenzia Fides by the National Commission for "Justice and Peace" of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan, there are about 1,000 reports of kidnapping of young Christian and Hindu women every year. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 28/1/2021)


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