Pakistan is steadily becoming a den of forced conversions and atrocities against helpless girls or women of minority communities.
In the latest instance that can shook the soul of anyone with heart, a disabled girl had to face it.
A deaf and mute 17-year-old Christian girl was kidnapped from her house and forcefully married to a Muslim man in Pakistan’s Lahore city in March, reported British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA).
As per reports, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed on March 17 by the Sandha police about the minor girl’s abduction. Police did not act against the accused. Later, local MP Tariq Gill intervened and police started to trace the last call which the victim’s mother Rubina received before she went missing. During the probe. The two suspects were identified as Ali Mubashir and Mohammed Azeem. They were near the location of the victim’s house when she went missing.
Azeem, who had decided to come for questioning but later turned untraceable for two months along with Mubashir. On April 10, Rubina received another call. She allegedly heard her daughter’s voice. On being reported to police, the number was traced to their neighbour Kashif Ghulam Rasool.
It was found that the girl had been forced into a van by Rasool and three others including Muhammed Azeem, Mubashir Ali and one Ali Abbas. One of them remained unidentified. The three were arrested from a house in Deepalpur in Okara district. But Kashif Ghulam Rasool couldn’t be traced.
Later, Kashif’s uncle produced the victim girl at the police station on June 5.
He produced a fake Islamic marriage certificate and a birth certificate, saying she was 18. He also produced a certificate claiming she willingly accepted Islam. While he allowed her to meet her parents, he said she won’t be returned to the family, saying she was not the property of her husband.
On meeting her daughter, Rubina said that the victim girl, Komal was in distress, as they communicated in sign language. The victim communicated being raped regularly by 5 Muslim men and wanted to be freed. But police refused to grant mother Rubina to take away her girl.
Later, MP Tariq Gill visited the police station and demanded the release of the victim and a probe. Her medical examination established both physical and sexual abuse. The test conducted at Punjab province’s Health Department found multiple scars on the left foot and wounds on her right forearm.
The victim has narrated at the District Education Officer (Special Education): “I was cleaning the floor of my house at around 1:30 pm. Suddenly Kashif Ghulam Rasool and her mother Raqiya came and dragged me out of my house by my arm. I’m deaf-mute so I could not make any noise to catch the attention of family members. They took me into a car and drove me to the other side of the River Ravi. On 19th March they took me to Jamia Nameea Lahore and was converted to Islam, Kashif made me do it. Kashif Ghulam Rasool forced me to marry him. After that, my husband took me to different places to avoid arrest by the police and he often beat me.”
Kashif and his mother Raqiya, who also assaulted the victim, applied for a pre-bail arrest. They got bail on a surety bond of 30,000 PKR each.
Qari Muhammad Saeed of Dar-Ul-Aloom Jamia Naeemia later stated Komal had converted without any duress on the March 19 and her marriage was legal.
After a protest outside Lahore Press Club, DSP Javed Sadiq of Central Investigation Agency assured the victim’s parents of a fair investigation in November. The victim is in a secret place now and recovering from the trauma.
In a statement, chairperson for the British Asian Christian Association, Juliet Chowdhry, said the young woman has suffered the vilest and horrid attack.
“There are few women my age that couldnot survive such an ordeal and yet despite her young years, she has shown a strength and faith in God that is remarkable. She prayed and trusted in God – knowing full well he was going to set her free. My daughter Hannah is the same age as Komal and also understands British Sign Language, she hopes to communicate with her soon to share prayers and to encourage her. When she heard of these horrors she wept – all Christian women should be moved to tears at the base cruelty faced by our sisters in Pakistan. This story should be a wake-up call – but how many of you will actually actively get involved in eradicating this evil?”
