Lahore [Pakistan], April 10 : A case has been filed against three accused for forcibly converting and marrying an 11-year-old non-Muslim girl in the Ferozwala area of Sheikhupura district, The Express Tribune reported.
Punjab Minister for Minority Affairs, Ramesh Singh Arora, swiftly ordered action in response to the alarming incident.
Salim Masih, a resident of Ferozwala, recounted how officials from the local police station visited his home on March 27, instructing him to appear in the Ferozwala court the following day alongside his daughter, according to The Express Tribune.
Upon their appearance in court, Masih, accompanied by his daughter and several relatives, was stunned to learn that their former neighbour, Imran Sarfaraz, had lodged a complaint against them.
Masih revealed that Sarfaraz presented his daughter's birth certificate to the court, which indicated her age as a mere 11 years old. Shockingly, accompanying the application was a marriage certificate dated October 10, 2023.
Following this revelation, Sarfaraz allegedly pressured the family to marry off the girl after her conversion to Islam.
In a conversation with The Express Tribune, Masih's daughter disclosed that the suspect, their neighbour, took her into signing the marriage documents under false pretences, promising a trip to a water park.
Upon reviewing the evidence, the court dismissed Sarfaraz's plea and instructed the police to take legal action against him, his mother, and the witnesses to the marriage.
Minister Ramesh Singh Arora personally reached out to Salim Masih upon learning of the distressing incident, urging the police to swiftly register a case against the suspect, The Express Tribune reported.
A group of UN experts last year expressed alarm at the reported rise in abductions, forced marriages and conversions of underage girls and young women from religious minorities in Pakistan and called for immediate efforts to curtail the practices and ensure justice for victims.
Reports suggest these so-called marriages and conversions take place with the involvement of religious authorities and the complicity of security forces and the justice system, according to the UN.
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