KARACHI: A court in Shahdadpur in district Benazirabad has allowed two Hindu girls who converted to Islam to go free (according to their chosen faith), while ordering two minors to be returned to their families on the condition that they will not be pressured to renounce their new religion.
According to the court order, the custody of the minors will only be granted once the parents furnish a personal bond of Rs10 million each, with an undertaking that they will allow the children to freely practice their chosen faith.
The case involves four Hindu children — three girls aged 19, 16, and 13, and a 12-year-old boy — who were allegedly abducted by their teacher, identified as Ghulam Hussain.
The teacher had been tutoring them in general subjects for the past three to four years, Ravi Dawani, General Secretary of the All Pakistan Hindu Panchayat, told HUM News English on Friday.
However, the ages listed in the court documents differ from those claimed by the family, showing them to be older.
The children, during court proceedings, denied having been kidnapped and stated they had embraced Islam of their own free will. The court recorded their statements under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
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According to the order, Jiya Bia (now Mariam) and Diya Bai (now Khadeeja), both adults, confirmed they were residing at the Gosha-e-Aafiat Trust in Karachi and wished to return there. The court set them at liberty.
Minors Dashina Bai (now Sidra) and Harjeet Kumar (now Abdul Rafay) also denied being abducted and said they embraced Islam voluntarily. However, their custody has been handed back to their parents, contingent on the no-pressure bond.
Ravi Dawani alleged that the teacher had gradually indoctrinated the children, offering free tuition and claiming to do so for religious reasons. He also expressed concern over rising incidents of conversion, blaming neglect by Hindu parents toward religious education.
All four children were recovered on Thursday, a day after reportedly going missing from their hometown.
Forced conversion of minority minors has long been a contentious issue in Sindh, particularly in districts like Ghotki, which drew national attention in 2012 with the case of Rinkle Kumari.
In March 2019, Reena and Raveena Meghwar disappeared from their home in Daharki, further fuelling debate over the protection of minority rights. According to Dawani, such cases are now being reported with growing frequency.