Sikh girl abducted, forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; massive protests erupt

Buner (Pakistan), August 21

Sikh community in the Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan organised massive protests after a Sikh girl was forcibly abducted and converted to Islam on the evening of August 20.

The girl was reported to be abducted on gunpoint, raped and married to her abductor with the help of local administration and police.

Seeing the discrimination and oppression, hundreds of Sikhs and other locals blocked the road and demanded justice.

A Sikh protester said, “I appeal to the people of Pakistan and those living abroad that we are being oppressed and attacked. This protest will continue till we get our daughter back. She was forcibly abducted yesterday with the help of the administration. The administration of Buner is involved in it as they tortured her and convinced her to get converted and get married. They misled us for the entire day.”

He added, “They have not registered our FIR in the police station. We also visited other senior officials but they have not given us any satisfactory answers. They are partners in this crime. With the help of the administration, our child was forced to sign the documents. I appeal to the Sikh community of the world to join us and protest against such crime. We will continue this protest till our child is not handed over to us.”

Another Sikh protester said, “We have had good relations with our Muslim neighbours. Such attacks, torture and forced conversion of our children are not acceptable to us. I appeal to the Muslim and Pashtun brothers to raise our voices for us and help us to get justice. We will not stay here anymore if you don’t stand with us.” 

Many Sikh families are settled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and they are mostly engaged in businesses. The minority community, including the Sikhs, Hindus and Christians from different parts of Pakistan, has been facing persecution and their girls are regularly being kidnapped, raped and married to their abductors.

Many families from Pakistan have already migrated to India and other countries to protect their daughters and other family members. ANI