Pakistan’s The News reports: “25 Hindu girls abducted every month, claims HRCP official”
— “As many as 20 to 25 girls from the Hindu community are abducted every month and converted forcibly, said Amarnath Motumal, an advocate and council member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.”
— “‘There is no official record to support this statement, but according to estimates, in Karachi alone, a large number of Hindu girls are being kidnapped on a routine basis,’ Motumal told The News. “The families of the victims are scared to register cases against the influential perpetrators as death threats are issued to them in case they raise their voice. So, the victims choose to remain silent to save their lives,’ he said.”
— “Motumal said the word ‘Hindu’ had become an insult and a kind of abuse for the Hindu community. ‘Almost 90 per cent of the Hindu community comprise poor and impoverished families whose needs and rights have been neglected by the ones at the helms of power,’ he said, adding that since a majority of the people feel helpless, only a few families come to him with their cases.”
— “A former MPA, Bherulal Balani, said that the Hindu girls, especially the ones belonging to scheduled castes, were mostly being abducted from the Lyari area. “Once the girls are converted, they are then sold to other people or are forced to do illegal and immoral activities,” Balani said. He added the perpetrators were very powerful and that was the reason that no cases were being registered against them.”
— “The number of attacks against the Hindu community has increased in the interior Sindh during the last three months. At least nine incidents have been reported which range from forced conversion of Hindus to rape and murders.”
— “In one incident, a 17-year-old girl ‘K’ was gang-raped in Nagarparker area. In another incident, a 15-year-old girl ‘D’ was allegedly abducted from Aaklee village, Tharparkar, and was forced to convert. About 71 families migrated from the village in protest against the girl’s abduction.”
— “Moreover, the Hindu communities were not even spared on the occasion of their joyous festival of Holi as two girls, Anita and Kishni, were kidnapped in Kotri. Moreover, two Hindu boys, Ajay and Sagar, were abducted from another place on the same day.”
— “One Amir Gul was murdered in the beginning of March in Tando Haider, Umerkot, allegedly by a landlord. Later in the month, a boy, Kishan Kumar, was kidnapped from Kandhkot, Jacobabad.”
— “MPA Pitamber Sewani told The News that these acts were being done by certain elements who believe that these minority communities might support the government in the upcoming local bodies’ elections, and these elements want to harass them.”
— “However, President Pakistan Hindu Council Ramesh Kumar criticised the minorities’ representatives for not raising their voice at relevant forums. He said that they were simply representing their respective parties and not the poor people. He added that poor economic conditions had led to an increase in kidnapping cases in the province, especially in the Kandhkot and Jacobabad areas.”
— “Coordinator HRCP Task Force Sindh Dr Ashothama Lohano told The News the according to their one fact-finding report, the most affected persons of violence belonged to Hindu and Christian communities. He said that various reasons have been cited for this. ‘The recent wave of extremism is one reason, which has destroyed the harmony of the land of Sufis. Another reason is the destruction of the agriculture sector and small markets that has led to frustration and lawlessness. Yet another reason is that the elected representatives are working only for the party and not for the community,’ Dr Lohano added.”
— “He further said that minority communities were easy targets as the Hindus were generally hesitant to raise voice against the injustices. ‘When the Hindu communities become politically active, they are blamed for having Indian connections,’ doctor Lohano said.”
Pakistan: 12 year-old girl Nadini abducted and missing since December 2009 (Pakistan Daily Times)
“A 12-year-old Hindu girl missing since December has not been traced by the Karachi police so far.”
“According to Roshni Research and Development Welfare Organisation (RRDWO) President Muhammad Ali, the kidnapped minor Nandini was allegedly abducted by an influential individual named Younas.”
Pakistan: 12 year-old girl Nadini abducted and missing since December 2009 (Photo: Pakistan Daily Times)
“Despite hectic efforts and meetings with Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Investigation zone West-II, and letters to the concerned authorities in Sindh, the girl has not been recovered and the accused has not been arrested though an FIR No 242/2009 has been registered against him under section 365B in Police Station Super Market Karachi.”
“It is not the only such case as dozens of similar cases are pending and awaiting justice to be dispensed to the victims and their families. It has been observed in such cases that police only provide lip service and do not seriously hunt down the criminals. In case they are arrested, they are released from the courts as the police present a weak case and no potential evidence before the courts.”
“Expressing his concerns and giving reference of the kidnapping case of a 17-year-old Hindu girl, Ali said the Asian Human Rights Commission has also expressed its serious concern that four men, who allegedly assisted on January 24, 2010 in the kidnapping and rape of the girl have been granted pre-arrest bail by a session court. Rape is a non-bail able offense in Pakistan and this is against criminal procedure and the law, he said.”
“Instead of giving justice to the victim’s family, the police later arrested the victim’s father on a false offense, and have obstructed attempts by the family to file an FIR and obtain a medical report, disclosed the RRDWP president.”
“Moreover, members of an illegal tribal court have reportedly proposed that the victim should marry her rapist and convert to Islam. Whereas, the victim has threatened public self-immolation if the perpetrators are not arrested and brought to justice by the authorities, he said.”
“‘Not arresting the rapists and rather forcing a Hindu girl, who is a rape victim, to convert to Islam and be the wife of the culprit could be double trauma for the victim. It is another form of further victimising a woman,’ said Ali.”
“He appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to take suo moto notice of the gross human rights violations of the poor and the marginalised minorities in the Sindh province at the hands of police and lower judiciary, who are predominantly influenced by the feudal and local elite.”
“Ali said the Sindh police reportedly support perpetrators instead of victims. The organisation undertakes a project Roshni Helpline that rescues and tracks down missing children.”
“He demanded the Sindh police authorities instead of just pleasing feudal lords and political influential elite, they should give protection to the poor and the marginalised communities.”
“A 12-year-old Hindu girl, Nandini, is still missing as police officials have failed to recover her even after four months of her being allegedly picked up by an influential individual of the city.”
“Officials have no information regarding Nandini’s whereabouts, who was kidnapped in December last year, and the accused named Younis has not been arrested despite the fact that there is a first information report (FIR) registered against him.”
“It is not an isolated case where Hindu families have been left with little choice than to lament over their fate, with no help in sight from the authorities.”
“Several Hindu families, which are at the receiving end of the government’s apathy, are awaiting justice for years but there’s no one to listen to their plight.”
“According to Roshni Research and Development Welfare Organisation (RRDWO), a non-government organisation (NGO), a research has shown in majority of cases involving the minority community, police only provide lip service and do not seriously hunt down the criminals.”
— AP reports: “Five Sikh men who fled their hometown on the Afghan border were making a quick trip back home when masked men blocked their way with a pickup on a mountain road not far from the Khyber Pass. There were no houses, no buildings, no other cars in sight. The kidnappers covered their faces with black scarves and carried machine-guns.”
— “In a country beset by a powerful Islamist insurgency, where suicide bombings are commonplace and government offensives widely dismissed as ineffective, anyone can become a victim. But for the nation’s minorities — its small communities of Hindus, Christians and Sikhs — life is particularly precarious. Thousands have fled their villages, crowding into urban slums. Thousands more have fled the country.”
— “‘With the rise in militancy in our society in general, and in the northwest in particular, minorities are feeling more threatened,’ said I.A. Rehman, a senior official with Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission. He noted many Sikhs have been driven from their homes, and those who remain are now often forced to pay militants a ‘jizya’ — a traditional tax for non-Muslim.”
AP: "In this photo made on March 19, 2010, Surjeet Singh, from Pakistan's Sikh community, sits with family members after his release in Peshawar, Pakistan. Singh, who had been kidnapped for ransom by alleged militants, was freed after 42 days as a result of a crackdown operation by security forces" (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
— “Singh’s journey, which began on a cold morning in January and ended 42 days later with a March 1 bloody gunbattle, underscores the threats to those minorities, as well as the lawlessness of Pakistan’s frontier regions.”
— “Two months later, it’s still not clear exactly why the Sikhs were targeted: Were the bandits waiting for them? Would they have kidnapped anyone who came by? Certainly their religion made them easier targets, since it is more difficult for them to make use of the region’s informal power networks, the tribal and religious leaders who can protect people in the semiautonomous areas.”
— “On that day, though, as armed men swarmed toward their car, shouting for the five Sikh men to move quickly, all Singh and his friends were thinking about was survival.”
— “Two of them managed to slip away amid the chaos, but three — all sharing the same common Sikh surname, Singh — were quickly captured.”
— “‘They held us at gunpoint, immediately dragged us out of our car,’ said Surjeet Singh, a quiet composed man. He and his friends were blindfolded and driven for about an hour. Then they began walking.”
— “They could see nothing through their blindfolds. They could only feel cold pressing in as they climbed higher into the Hindu Kush mountains.”
— “After hours of walking, they were brought to a set of rooms carved into the mountainside. It would be their home for the next 42 days. There they would be kept chained and often blindfolded. Occasionally, they were beaten. The prisoners never saw their captors’ faces — which were always covered with scarves — and even now they do not know who they were.”
— “They clearly were militant Muslims, forcibly cutting their prisoners hair. Keeping hair uncut is a deeply important religious precept for Sikh men.”
In Pakistan, media sourcesreport that a Christian woman was raped for refusing to convert from Christianity to Islam.
Catholic Newshas updated this story to state that the husband self-immolated himself in despair (and died) over the rape and torture of his wife who was falsely accused of a “crime,” and who refused religious conversion.
BosNews is reporting that Christian groups sought to protest the ” ‘refusal’ of police to detain” those allegedly responsible, and that such Christian group protests were denied because of “terrorism threats.”
“Pakistani Christian couple refuses to convert: husband is burnt alive, wife raped by police” by Fareed Khan“Both husband and wife worked for a wealthy Muslim businessman in Rawalpindi. Their three children, ranging from 7 and 12, were forced to watch their parents brutalised. The man has suffered 80 per cent burns, and hospital doctors do not think he will survive. Christian organisations stage protests.”
“Arshed Masih, 38, is still fighting for his life in Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi, a city not far from Pakistan’s capital. With the help of police, Muslim extremists last Friday set him on fire for refusing to convert to Islam and raped his wife, local sources told AsiaNews. The incident occurred in front of a local police station.”
“In 2005, Masih and his wife began working for a wealthy Muslim businessman, he as driver and she as his wife’s maid. Recently, the two fell out of favour with their employer and his family because they insisted on remaining Christian.”
“During the incident, Masih’s wife, Martha, ‘was raped by police agents,’ local sources said. The couple’s three children, ranging in age from 7 and 12, were forced to watch their parents being brutalised.”
“‘Masih and his wife are currently being treated in hospital,’ Holy Family Hospital officials said. ‘He was listed in serious condition with about 80 per cent of his body burned,’ the BosNewsLife agency reported. With that kind of burns, hospital officials said the 38-year-old victim (pictured) is not likely to survive.”
“On Sunday, the Government of Punjab government announced an investigation into what happened. ‘The matter will be investigated and the culprits will be arrested,’ Punjab’s Minister of Law Rana Sanaullah said.”
“The Christian couple lived with their children in the servant quarters of Sheikh Mohammad Sultan’s estate in Rawalpindi. In January, religious leaders and Sultan reportedly told Arshed to convert to Islam with his whole family. After he refused, they threatened him with ‘dire consequences’.”
“Arshed offered to quit his job, but the businessman allegedly said he would ‘kill’ him if he were to leave.”
“Last week, tensions rose after Sultan reported the theft of 500,000 Pakistani rupees (almost US$ 6,000), and an official complaint (First Information Report) was filed with police.”
“Although the Christian couple was not named as suspect, the businessman offered them to drop the case if they converted to Islam or ‘else that both would not see their children again.'”
“The rest is known. Arshed Masih chose to remain loyal to his Christian faith, and last Friday he was set on fire and his wife raped by police.”
“Citing ‘terrorism threats’, the government of Pakistan’s Punjab province banned protests Monday, March 22, against the ‘refusal’ by police to detain those who burned a Christian man for not converting to Islam, while raping his wife.
“‘There is a possible threat of terrorism, so it is better to avoid any processions,’ the government told Life for All, one of the Christian advocacy groups organizing the demonstrations.”
“It wasn’t clear who had made the threats. Officials of Pakistan’s Christian minority expressed concerns however about attacks by extremists, including fighters linked to al-Qaida and other militant groups.”
“Monday’s demonstrations were to be organized in the cities of Lahore and Rawilpindi, where police and religious leaders allegedly attacked the Christian couple Friday, March 19.”
On March 12, 2010 at the Washington DC National Press Club, the Voice of the Copts held a press conference to address the subject of ongoing Egyptian Coptic Christian oppression and the oppression of Pakistani Christians.
The Voice of the Copts’ Ashraf Ramelah spoke on the human rights issues regarding the Copts in Egypt. He addressed the attack on Coptic Christians on the Coptic Christmas Eve in January 2010, which resulted in 6 Copts and a Muslim police officer were killed. He also discussed the case of Mohammed Bishoy Hegazy, an Egyptian Christian who converted to Christian from Islam, and who has asked the Egyptian government to allow his Egyptian identity card (which describes a person’s religion) to be changed from Muslim to Christian.
On January 22. 2010, the Voice of the Copts announced that the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) submitted application into UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights “seeking judgment against the Egyptian government for refusing to recognize the fact that Mr. Mohammed Bishoy Hegazy and his family members are Christians converted from Islam.” The Voice of the Copts stated that Mr. Hegazy’s Egyptian attorney was Mr. Ashraf Edward.
Attorney Ashraf Edward was supposed to be at the March 12, 2010 press conference, but Ashraf Ramelah stated that his visa application to come to the United States was stalled by government officials, even though it was filed on a timely basis. Voice of the Copts’ Ashraf Ramelah stated that some U.S. government officials questioned why the Copts even needed to have such a press conference in the United States to speak on behalf of Coptic freedom, equality, and liberty in Egypt.
In attorney Ashraf Edward’s prepared remarks, he states that “the case of Mohamed Hegazy, which was to take its first steps before the United Nations will be the first step to the issues of converts from Islam to Christianity in Egypt in particular and the Arab society in general.” Ashraf Edward’s prepared remarks also stated that the Egyptian Constitution’s definition of Islam as the state religion and Sharia as the source of all legislation is the cause of the “suffering of all minorities within Egyptian society… [violating] all freedom proclaimed by the international conventions and treaties” as well as the International Covenant of Human Rights.
Voice of the Copts’ Ashraf Ramelah also spoke of his and the Voice of the Copts’ support for religious freedom, and that “I would be against anyone that would be creating any hate or pointing his finger just because this person is not a Christian or this person is a Muslim.” Ashraf Ramelah concluded that “each one has the right to believe whatever he wants to believe… I don’t accept to be forced to be follow that belief.”
Ashraf Ramelah also summarized some of Christian convert Mr. Hegazy’s remarks in Arabic stating “sisters and brothers freedom is the most noble thing that we fight for and one of those freedoms that we fight for is the freedom of religion, as defined in article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” Mr. Ramelah stated that Mr. Hegazy said that he was arrested for preaching for Christianity, and has been oppressed and discriminated against for converting from Islam to Christianity. Mr. Ramelah also read that Mr. Hegazy stated that fatwas had been issued against him due to his conversion to Christianity. Ashraf Ramelah also described Mr. Hegazy’s struggle to get his Christian identity recognized, as well as the situation in Egypt where those who convert from Christianity to Islam are widely accepted, whereas the religious freedom to convert from Islam to Christianity was met with oppression and threats.
(See also video of Ashraf Ramelah’s statements, part 1, part 2, part 3).
Voice of the Copts' Ashraf Ramelah Speaks at DC National Press Club on Coptic and Christian Oppression in Egypt
Jordan Sekulow provided a description of the ACLJ’s mission as a partner to the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) that submitted Mohammed Bishoy Hegazy’s application to the U.N. human rights group seeking to have Egypt recognize Mr. Hegazy as a Christian. Mr. Sekulow described how the ACLJ and the ECLJ sought to defend the human and legal rights of Christians around the world. (See also video of Mr. Sekulow’s statement.)
ACLJ's Jordan Sekulow
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ)’s Shaheryar S. Gill also addressed the press conference, discussing details of Mr. Hegazy’s case. Mr. Gill worked on Mr. Hegazy’s petition submitted to the United Nations in January 2010. Mr. Gill also addressed the oppression of Christians both in Egypt and in Pakistan, as part of a global refusal by some nations to accept religious plurality. (See also video of Mr. Gill’s statement, part 1, part 2).
ACLJ's Shaheryar Gill
Dr. Nazir Bhatti of the Pakistan Christian Congress and Pakistan Christian Post further described the oppression of Pakistani Christians today. Dr. Nazir Bhatti spoke about the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl, Shazia Bashir, on January 23, who was employed as a domestic in Lahore, Pakistan by a powerful Muslim lawyer Chaudhry Muhammad Naeem who is the primary suspect in this crime. He spoke about how Pakistan Muslim League and others offered financial compensation to Shazia Bashir’s family, believing this would ensure “justice.” Dr. Bhatti also described the formation of a medical board comprised of Muslim doctors who stated that Shazia Bashir was not raped, but claim that she died of a “skin infection.” He also told of how the Lahore Bar Association passed a resolution that would call for the cancellation of lawyers’ membership who would follow the Shazia Bashir case. Dr. Nazir Bhatti also spoke about the attack on Pakistan Christians attacked by a mob in Gojra, and how the accused parties were readily dismissed. (See also video of Dr. Bhatti’s statement).
Dr. Nazir Bhatti of the Pakistan Christian Congress and Pakistan Christian Post Speaks of Oppression of Minority Christians in Pakistan
Faith McDonnell, of The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), spoke about oppression of women under Sharia. She described her focus of seeking to change the witness of churches towards “the persecuted church and human rights in general.” Faith McDonnell spoke about the release of the DVD of the film “The Stoning of Soraya M.,” which was released on the week of International Women’s Day. She stated that the film reminds the world that “under Sharia, [for Muslim women] it is a struggle for women to stay alive,” and described how the rights for non-Muslim women under Sharia were even worse. She spoke of the double standards and abuse of women under Sharia, as a “religiously sanctioned form of misogyny.”
IRD's Faith McDonnell Speaks on Oppression of Women
Jeffrey Imm of Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) spoke on “Egypt and the Undiscovered Country,” stating that America once also had to find the courage to live up its human rights commitments. He stated that America did so by the majority of whites who once oppressed black Americans realizing that they had the responsibility to change. He urged Egyptian Muslims to “don’t look to just the Coptic victims of oppression for the solution to peace and human rights in Egypt. Don’t expect only the Copts and their diaspora around the world to deal with this problem.” He urged Egyptian Muslims to take responsibility for changing the oppression of Copts in Egypt.
“To both the Copts and to their oppressors, I invite you to consider seeking a path to a new Egypt, to an Undiscovered Country, where freedom of religion, where freedom of conscience, where our universal human rights of equality and liberty, are not just special privileges, but are guaranteed rights for all human beings. I invite you to pursue a path where human rights and peace are not considered as opposite choices, but are recognized as equal priorities. And I invite you to pursue a path where we leave hate in our past, and choose love for our future.” (See also video, part 1, part 2).
Pakistan Daily Times: “Blasphemy in a human world” – Sikander Amani: “Whether you like it or not, the notion of blasphemy, or of ‘defamation of religion’, creates a hierarchy of beliefs which is simply incompatible with the plurality of the world, and the very right to hold a belief.” “On the contrary, it seems to be the first step towards allowing for the supremacy of one religion…”
Pakistan Christian Post reports:
— “Mr. Ezra Shujaat advocate have filed a Writ Petition in High Court to lodge First Information Report FIR against Muslim attackers on a Christian Family when police denied to register case on request of injured family.”
— “According to reports, on February 26, 2010, at 3;00 PM when Muneeran Bibi along with her father and other sisters was doing house hold, five Muslims, Mohammad Sajid equipped with pistol, Mohammad Shareef equipped with Knife, Mohammad Wajid holing a stick, and two unknown persons forcibly entered in their home and started beating them,”
— “Mohammad Shreef loudly instructed his companions to kidnap Muneeran and her younger sister Sheena, but when the family resisted, they torn the clothes of Muneeran and others.”
— “Mohammad Shareef attacked Muneeran and gave four injures with knife, Muneeran fell down unconscious, during this people from neighbor hood came and attackers ran away.”
— “Muuneeran Bibi was taken to hospital but fist police refused to lodge FIR on which Advocate Ezra Shujaat filed writ petition in court and got the order for lodging FIR,”
— “In fact on 8th April 2007,on Easter Sunday .the younger sister of Muneeran ,named Sheena aged 13 years was kidnapped and sexually abused by four Muslims.”
— “The trial of kidnapping of Sheena is pending in court and on final stage. Now,the family was attacked to pressurize them to withdraw pending case”
