Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - The sister of a Christian Protestant pastor was kidnapped, repeatedly raped and forced to convert to Islam. This is what happened in the town of Chunian, in the south of Lahore, in the province of Punjab.
As local sources of Fides report, the young Muzamal Arif, Pastor Aurangzeb’s sister, was kidnapped about a month ago by some Muslim men while returning home from college. She was held for days, suffering sexual abuse, threats and violence. In such a state of terror and exhaustion, the first statement was coerced conversion to Islam, then marriage. The girl is now a Muslim and married to Muhammad Nadeem.
Her family reported the incident to the police station in Chunian, but police have not conducted any investigation, instead they presented a report of the court attesting how the girl is now a Muslim and legally married. Among other things, the girl is a minor and, according to the law, marriage is not permitted to minors. "But the kidnappers’ family is rich and powerful and manages to also bypass this legal measure" note local Christians.
The Pastor Mustaq Gill, president of the NGO LEAD ("Legal Evangelical Association Development "), who is dealing with the case, explains to Fides: "The practice of forced conversion and forced marriage is widespread: rich and powerful Muslims take advantage, especially in rural areas and girls are victims of religious minorities." According to Fides Agency data, in Pakistan there are about 1,000 similar cases each year, against Christian and Hindu girls. To combat the phenomenon, widely recognized by civil authorities, the "National Commission for Religious Minorities" has prepared a draft law (see Fides 14/06/2012), that Christians support and hope that it may soon be considered by Parliament. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 17/7/2012)
