"Girls should be restored to their family immediately," says Sushma Swaraj to "PM of Naya Pakistan"

The incident took place on the eve of Holi when two Hindu girls were abducted, converted and were forcibly married off, in Sindh province.

By : ABP News Bureau | Updated at : 26 Mar 2019 12:25 PM (IST)

Forced conversion of Hindu girls in Pakistan:

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj/ Image: PTI

"The age of the girls is not disputed. Raveena is only 13 and Reena is 15 years old", said Sushma

"Even the Prime Minister on Naya Pakistan will not believe that girls of this tender age can voluntarily decide about their conversion to another religion and marriage", she said

7 arrests were made including a man who assisted in solemnising the wedding of the 2 girls , in Pakistan on Monday.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asked Pakistani to return the two Hindu minor girls, who were abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married off, to their family. The incident took place on the eve of Holi when two Hindu girls were abducted, converted and were forcibly married off, in Sindh province. Upping her efforts seeking rescue of the two minor girls, Swaraj took to Twitter and said that the age of the girls is not disputed. 13 and 15-year-olds cannot voluntarily decide about their conversion to another religion and marriage, she said. “Forced conversion of Hindu girls in Pakistan: The age of the girls is not disputed. Raveena is only 13 and Reena is 15 years old. Even the Prime Minister on Naya Pakistan will not believe that girls of this tender age can voluntarily decide about their conversion to another religion and marriage,” she tweeted referring to Imran Khan’s “Naya Pakistan”. “Justice demands that both these girls should be restored to their family immediately,” she said.

Forced conversion of Hindu girls in Pakistan : The age of the girls is not disputed. Raveena is only 13 and Reena is 15 years old. /1
— Chowkidar Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 26, 2019

Even the Prime Minister on Naya Pakistan will not believe that girls of this tender age can voluntarily decide about their conversion to another religion and marriage. /2
— Chowkidar Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 26, 2019

Justice demands that both these girls should be restored to their family immediately. /3
— Chowkidar Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 26, 2019

At least seven people, including a man who assisted in solemnising the wedding of the 2 girls have been detained in Pakistan on Monday. The two girls were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi. Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls, triggering a nationwide outrage. On March 20, the girls' family lodged a First Information Report against their alleged forced conversion to Islam. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered a probe into the incident after the two separate videos started doing rounds on social media. Citing police, Dawn reported that several raids were conducted on Sunday night in Punjab's Rahim Yar Khan district - where it was believed the girls were taken from Ghotki - and arrested the Nikah Khwan who solemnised their marriages, a leader of the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek, and some relatives of the two men who had married the two girls. The detained suspects were handed over to Sindh police, it added. Superintendent of Police Farrukh Lanjhar, who paid a visit to the girls' father Sunday night, said that action was being taken on all available information to recover the girls. According to Geo TV, the girls have approached a court in Bahawalpur in Punjab province seeking protection. The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Prime Minister Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country.

Published at : 26 Mar 2019 12:24 PM (IST)

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Abduction Conversion Sindh Sushma Swaraj Imran Khan Pakistan