SOMETIMES I cannot believe that I live in Pakistan. This was supposed to be the land for minorities, where everyone had the right to pray. But when I hear news about men and women who are forced to convert I suppose, I, like many of my countrymen have to face harsh realities.

PPP senator Krishna Kumari, who made history as the first Dalit woman in the Senate, tweeted about the incident over the weekend and said that she was worried about the recent kidnapping and forced conversion incidents. She added that the police had assured her the abductors would be arrested soon.

These abductions also led to a spat between our information minister and India’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj. She asked the Indian high commissioner in Pakistan to give her a report on the issue.

Fawad Chaudhry, responding to Swaraj, said that this was Pakistan’s internal matter and he hoped the Indian government would “act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian minorities”.

The government can come up with some law and protect these girls before it is too late.

Razia
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2019