12/20/2019 Pakistan (International Christian Concern) – Christian activists in Pakistan are speaking out against the abduction and forced conversion of girls from the country’s minority communities. These groups are calling on the Pakistani government to take action not only to recover the victims of this abuse but to also take steps to punish the perpetrators.

According to Peter Jacob, Executive Director of the Center for Social Justice (CSJ), in the last seven years at least 160 girls for the Christian and Hindu community in Pakistan has been taken by force from their home, forced to convert to Islam, and then married to older men. Jacob went on to specifically highlight the case of Huma, a 14-year-old Christian girl that was abducted in late November in Karachi and converted against her will.

In November, a Parliamentary Commission for Protection from Forced Conversions was set up by the presidents of Pakistan’s Senate and National Assembly. Many hope that this commission will take the necessary measures to confront the issue of abduction and forced conversion in Pakistan.

“CSJ has recorded 16 cases of women who have requested the support of the Sindh High Court,” Jacob explained. “The analysis of these cases reveals a wide spectrum of legal loopholes, procedural irregularities, and social-cultural factors that leave criminals unpunished. All of this must be taken into consideration in the work of the parliamentary commission.”

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