Converted Kalash girl flays attack on relatives’ house

Says will not revert to old religion

CHITRAL: Condemning the attack on the house of her relatives, the Kalash girl who recently converted to Islam said Saturday that she was not the first person from her community to become a Muslim.

Talking to The News, 16-year old Reena said that those who tried to create law and order situation over reports about her forced conversion to Islam should have first talked to her instead of resorting to violence.

She said she would not revert to her old religion after embracing Islam. She maintained that Muslim and Kalash people peacefully lived and coexisted with one another for centuries.

Meanwhile, Shahi Gul, a social worker from the Kalash community, said that his people had no objection to someone becoming a Muslim. However, he said protection should be given to the girls who changed their religion.

He said there were several instances of Kalash girls converting to Islam, but they had to live with their parents after the break-up of their marriages.

On Thursday, some Muslims staged protest outside the house of a Kalash family in Bamburet valley following rumours that Reena was present there and was reverting to her old religion. The protestors threw stones at the house to show their anger. 

Reena and her father along with relatives travelled to Chitral town from her village in Bamburet to address a press conference where she denied she was forced to convert to Islam.