Officials meet relatives of ‘abducted girls’

SUKKUR: On the directives of Sindh Minister for Minorities Affairs Hari Ram Kishori Lal, the ministry officials met with the abducted Hindu girls’ relatives on Sunday and assured them that the Sindh government would not leave a single stone unturned to recover the girls, while Prime Minister Imran Khan also directed Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to probe the matter.

The Director Minorities Affairs, Sindh, Mushtaq Ahmad Soomro, conveyed the message of Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah and Minister for Minorities Affairs Hari Ram Kishori Lal that the government had already taken the notice of such unfortunate incidents and has issued directives for the earliest recovery of the two allegedly missing sisters identified as Ravina and Reena daughters of Hari Lal. He informed that the Daharki Police have arrested two alleged suspects, while a police team was sent to Rahim Yar Khan on a tip-off to recover the abducted Hindu girls.

Shaman Lal, the brother of one of the victims, claimed that the two were abducted and forcibly converted to Islam, following a video that gone viral on the social media, in which the two allegedly abducted Hindu girls claiming to have been converted to Islam. They further claimed, “No one has forced us, we have embraced Islam at our own will.”

While the Hindu community leader Mukhi Shiv Menghwar said, “It was not free will and the girls were in fact kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam.” Hailing from a scheduled caste, the Hindu leaders alleged that two underage girls had been abducted by the members of Kohbar and Malik tribes on the eve of Holi.

Meanwhile, the members of minority communities on Sunday staged a protest on the National Highway, Ghotki, against the alleged abduction of the two Hindu girls. The protesters blocked the highway and demanded the early recovery of abducted girls, and said the two alleged suspects including Barkat Ali and Saffdar were involved in kidnapping the girls when they were on the way to the temple for Holi celebrations.

On the occasion, the relatives of the allegedly missing girls thanked the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Minister for Minorities Affairs Hari Ram Kishori Lal for the support.