ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Tuesday ordered the government to take custody of two teenage sisters belonging to the minority Hindu community whose family says they were kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslims.
Police say the girls, both under 18 years of age, left their home in the southern town of Ghotki in Sindh province on March 20 to be married in Punjab province. Unlike Sindh, Punjab has no bar on marriages of those younger than 18.
The girls’ family has filed a police report saying the girls were abducted and forced into marriage with Muslims. In a video circulating on social media, their father Hari Ram said his daughters were abducted and forcibly converted. In a separate video, the girls are seen saying they had accepted Islam by choice.
On Monday, police arrested seven suspects in the case, including a cleric who performed the wedding last Friday. The girls subsequently petitioned the Islamabad High Court seeking protection for themselves and their husbands, the court said in its order on Tuesday. They have been sent to separate government shelters.
In the court petition, the girls said they were born into a Hindu family and converted because they were “impressed by Islamic teachings” but did not inform their family of their decision out of fear for their lives. They said reports that they were forcefully converted were “false and fabricated.”
Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition in Courtroom 1, where both girls, their alleged spouses, representatives of the federal government, Islamabad administration and Sindh police, and the director general of the Human Rights department were all present.
“This is an extremely sensitive issue,” the judge said. “Pakistan’s international standing is tied to it. Ensuring the rights of minorities is our responsibility.”
A government representative told the judge that the inquiry would be completed within a week.
“Until the final report is submitted, they [the girls] will remain your guests,” Minallah told authorities present in the courtroom.
Pakistan court places two Hindu girls in protection after ‘forced conversion’
Pakistan court places two Hindu girls in protection after ‘forced conversion’
- Family claims the minors were abducted and married to Muslim men after forced conversion to Islam
- The girls said in a court petition on Monday they had converted because they were “impressed by Islamic teachings”
Pakistan raises India's suspension of water-sharing treaty with UNGA president, seeks action
- New Delhi said in April last year it was holding the treaty in abeyance after a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
- Official says such actions threaten lives of 240 million Pakistanis, particularly at a time of climate stress, water scarcity
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has taken up India’s suspension of a decades-old water-sharing treaty with the president of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), urging action over the move that Islamabad said sets "dangerous precedents."
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) divides control of the Indus basin rivers between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. India said in April last year it would hold the treaty “in abeyance” after a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed more than 26 tourists. New Delhi blamed the assault on Pakistan, Islamabad denied it.
The attack led to a four-day military conflict between the neighbors last May that say them attack each other with fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery before the United States-brokered a ceasefire. Tensions have remained high between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
During a meeting on the sidelines of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) annual hearing, Pakistan Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani told UNGA President Annalena Baerbock that India's unlawful action constituted a blatant violation of the treaty’s provisions and principles of customary international law.
"Such actions threaten the lives and livelihoods of over 240 million Pakistanis and set dangerous precedents, particularly at a time when climate stress and water scarcity demand cooperation and strict respect for international agreements," he was quoted as saying by the Pakistani information ministry.
The treaty, mediated by the World Bank, grants Pakistan rights to the Indus basin’s western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — for irrigation, drinking, and non-consumptive uses like hydropower, while India controls the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — for unrestricted use but must not significantly alter their flow.
Highlighting the adverse impacts of climate change, Gilani said countries like Pakistan remain among the most severely affected and underscored the urgency of collective action, climate justice and strengthened international cooperation.
"The United Nations provides an indispensable platform for addressing these interconnected challenges," he said at the meeting.
Gilani, who was leading a six-member parliamentary delegation, this week delivered the national statement at the IPU annual hearing at the UN headquarters, calling for democratic, transparent, and accountable decision-making in order to enhance the UN’s credibility, according to the Senate of Pakistan.
“Parliaments are indispensable partners in ensuring national ownership of international commitments,” he was quoted as saying by the Senate. “Reform is essential. But it must be ‘Reform for All, Privilege for None’.”
The Senate chairman highlighted the continuing importance of the United Nations as the cornerstone of multilateral cooperation, stressing that the organization’s universal membership and Charter-based mandate remain central to promoting global peace and security.
