Minorities demand early recovery of Christian girl

Report in Dawn, November 3rd, 2020
KOHAT/KHYBER: The Pakistan Minority Rights Commission members held a protest demonstration in Kohat on Monday against the ‘forced conversion and marriage of a 13-year-old Christian girl in Karachi, and demanded of the government to help recover her.
The protesters said influential people were involved in the unethical act. The protest organised at the Catholic Church was addressed by father Rehmat Williams, president of minority wing southern KP, Sabir Sidddique, chairman of peace council Javed Nacheez, and others.
They regretted that forced marriages of underage girls of minority communities had become a common practice, which had been prohibited under the Sindh Marriage Act.
Meanwhile, the minority community members in Khyber tribal district condemned the ‘forced conversion’ of an underage Christian girl and her marriage to an older man in Karachi.
Malak Arshad Masih, a spokesman for Khyber minorities community and central member of the Pakistan Minorities Alliance, in a statement, said the entire minority community, especially Christians residing in Khyber, were saddened by the ‘forced conversion’ and marriage of Arzo Raja in violation of the country’s laws.
“The forced conversion of a minor girl and later marrying her to a person much older than her age is a cruel and inhuman act which cannot be tolerated in any society and religion,” he said.
Arshad Masih also took the Sindh government to task over its failure to stop such cruel acts despite the fact that the province’s assembly had passed a resolution fixing 18 years as the marriageable age.
“How can a minor girl decide about her future when she is not even entitled to acquire a CNIC or get a mobile phone SIM card,” he remarked.
He said the Arzo Raja’s case had spread fear and a sense of insecurity among the minorities, and earned a bad name for the country in the international community.
He appealed to the army chief, the CJP, the prime minister, the president and the Sindh governor and the chief minister to help recover the minor Christian girl and hand her over to her parents. www.dawn.com/news/1588288/minorities-demand-early-recovery-of-christian-girl