Hindu community holds protest against girl's abduction in Pakistan

Islamabad: The Pakistani Hindu community on Wednesday held a protest in front of former President Asif Ali Zardari's residence in Nawabshah, Sindh province against the alleged kidnapping, forced conversion, and marriage of a 16-year-old Hindu girl named Kareena, local media reported.

According to the protesters, the girl was kidnapped in Unnar Muhalla, Qazi Ahmed Town on July 6 by family members of Khalil Rehman Jono.

The protesters chanted slogans against the police and asked the former President to intervene in the matter to help them to find the girl.

However, local police said that Kareena had not been abducted she had eloped with Khalil Rehman Jono of Meer Mohammad Jono village and had married him in a court in Karachi.

According to police, Asghar Jono, father of Khalil, had been arrested after the registration of FIR under Section 365-B on a complaint lodged by Sundurmal.

The SSP shared a marriage registration certificate purportedly of Kareena and Khalil Rehman Jono and said the girl would be produced in Sindh High Court. The girl would decide to go wherever she wanted, he added.

Hindu Panchayat vice president Lajpat Rai rejected the SSP's claim and said a delegation of the Hindu community met the SSP but he had not helped them, reported Dawn.

Earlier this year, a Hindu girl Pooja Kumari was killed by a man at her home in Pakistan's Sindh province. Pooja Kumari was shot in Sukkur after she put up resistance to attackers.

This incident drew a sharp reaction from various human rights organizations in the country.
Activists say human rights in Pakistan records have touched a new low with several media reports and global bodies reflecting the dire situation for women, minorities, children, and media persons in the country. (ANI)