Kidnapped from her wedding "Bharti" is now "Bushra"

Islamabad: A Hindu woman was allegedly kidnapped by assailants under the supervision of local police authorities from her wedding venue in Hala, a city located in Matiari district in Sindh province, about 215 km away from the provincial capital Karachi.

Sindh is infamous for its several cases of abduction, forceful marriage and conversion of young Hindu girls to Islam. According to reports, the woman Bharti Bai (24), was later forcefully converted to Islam and married to a Muslim man.

Locals told media tht Bharti was to be married to a Hindu man in Hala city, when unknown assailants allegedly stormed the venue and kidnapped her. Kishore Das, the father of Bharti Bai, said his daughter's marriage ceremony was underway when the kidnapper named Shah Rukh Gul came with several men along with policemen and took his daughter away in broad daylight.

Later, a picture of Bharti along with documents of her conversion to Islam and marriage to Shah Rukh Gul went viral on social media.

According to the documents of her conversion, it seems that Bharti had converted to Islam on December 1, 2019, which may be the reason why she was taken away from her wedding venue.

As per the conversion certificate, Bharti's new name after converting to Islam is 'Bushra'. Jamiat-ul-Uloom Islamia, located at Allama Muhammad Yousuf Banuri town in Karachi, issued the certificate of Bharti's conversion while her conversion was witnessed and certified by Mufti AbuBakar Saeed ur Rehman.

While the family has demanded her return, on the other hand, it is being said that Bharti had converted to Islam at least one month prior to the incident. Her parents allegedly found out about her conversion and were getting her married to a Muslim man forcibly.

This incident has raised several questions on Imran Khan-led government's promises to provide security to minorities in the country.

Recently, a senior official of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs to lodge a strong protest and share serious concerns about the recent cases of abduction of minor girls belonging to the minority Hindu community of Pakistan.

This came after two minor girls, Shanti Meghwad and Sarmi Meghwad, were abducted on January 14 from Umar Village in Sindh, Pakistan.(UNI)