LAHORE: The 15-year-old Christian girl was shifted to a Darul Aman in Sheikhupura after she was rescued by police on Wednesday night.

A complaint about her abduction was filed directly to the Human Rights and Minority Affairs minister.

The application said that the girl, a resident of Hafizabad and student of grade 5, had gone to school as usual, but did not come home afterwards. The class teacher told her parents that Principal Salima Bibi had taken the child to a madressah. The parents visited at least three seminaries before they found the child but the madressah staff – both male and female - did not allow a meeting. It was not until a day later that the girl’s family could see the girl, but only under supervision by the madressah staff.

The girl told her parents as she was reading Arabic in school her teacher told her that she had automatically become a Muslim.

Human Rights Minister Ijaz Alam Augustine, speaking to Dawn, said that the family had sought the government’s help on Wednesday and filed an application. The minister said action by his ministry had been taken promptly. Kashif Nawab, director of SATH Pakistan, who was involved in the case since the beginning, says the family was also offered by the principal to convert to Islam and that she would compensate them by paying for their needs but they had rejected.

Meanwhile, a 24-year-old girl, Renuka Kumari from Rohri, Sindh, who submitted a statement to the court wishing release from Sialkot Darul Aman, so that she be allowed to go back to Sindh with her brother Himesh, has finally reached home.

She is currently in Sukkur with her family.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2019