Forcefully converted Hindu minor handed over to police in Pakistan's Sukkur

A Hindu girl who was kidnapped and forcefully converted to Islam a few days ago, was handed over to the Tangwani police of Kandhkot-Kashmore district by the management of the Bharchundi Sharif shrine, located in Daharki town of Ghotki district of Pakistan.

A Hindu girl who was kidnapped and forcefully converted to Islam a few days ago, was handed over to the Tangw police of Kandhkot-Kashmore district by the management of the Bharchundi Sharif shrine, located in Daharki town of Ghotki district of Pakistan.

The girl, Kaweeta Odh was handed over to the police on Tuesday, Dawn reported.

According to the daily, Odh's parents and relatives say that the girl is 13.

Her counsel, Advocate Saeed Ahmed Bijar, however, told reporters outside a civil court in Tangw, that she had recorded her statement in court and that she had "embraced Islam and adopted her new name, Umme Hina."

It was reported that the minor was shifted to a shelter home in Kandhkot for 24 hours on the orders of civil judge Munawwar Hussain Pirzada under strict security.

Last week, a gang of armed men barged into a Hindu family's house in Jarwar locality in Tangw town and kidnapped the Hindu minor at gunpoint.

"Police arrived in the locality after being informed of the incident, collected information from Takhat Odh's family and lodged a report against as yet unknown suspects for kidnapping Takhat's daughter Kaweeta. Later, police raided houses of Behalk community in the locality over suspicions they might have kidnapped the girl but neither the girl nor the kidnappers were found there and police had to return empty handed," Dawn reported.

Mele McDonagh in an article recently in UK-daily The Spectator on Wednesday said that it cannot be right to support the Imran Khan-led government "which has presided over the revolting treatment of Christians, Hindus and other religious minorities."

She cited a report by Movement for Solidarity and Peace (MSP)-- a non-partisan orgzation for human rights in Pakistan -- which stated that Christian girls -- usually between the ages of 12 and 25 -- are abducted, converted to Islam, and married to the abductor or third party.

Many members of the minority communities in Pakistan - the Ahmadis, Hindus, Christians and Sikhs were charged with draconian blasphemy law. Many of them are languishing in jails on the false charges of disrespecting the Quran. Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan are facing atrocities in the hands of Muslims and the government authorities.

The families of the victims have lost faith in the Pakist government and its state institutions. Parents of the victims have perished during these series of protests and the long wait for justice lasting for years.

Pakistan has been repeatedly slammed by the international community for not taking stringent measures to protect its minority communities, despite the country's Prime Minister Imran Khan vowing to protect them on numerous occasions.

( With inputs from ANI )