In March, Poonam, a 13-year-old Hindu girl kidnapped last year, was forced to convert in the Lyari area of Karachi in Pakistan's Sindh province. Her parents were stunned by the influence the maulvis (Islamic scholars) had over their daughter. "She was very scared. She told us that she was now going to live with them as a Muslim," Poonam's uncle, Bhanwroo, 61, told India Today. Poonam is now Mariam.
No one protested against Poonam's conversion because almost every Hindu family in Lyari has endured religious persecution for years. Kidnapping is routine in Pakistan. But what has shaken the 2.7 million-strong Hindu community in a nation of 168 million Muslims are recent forced conversions of young girls. Many see the incidents as a conspiracy to drive Hindus out of Pakistan.
"We are very worried. We have started sending our young children either to India or to other countries. We are also planning to migrate soon," says 46-year-old Sanao Menghwar from Nawab Shah in Sindh province. He has reason to panic. Research done by local agencies says that on average 25 Hindu girls are kidnapped and converted every month in Pakistan.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/mla-ram-singh-sodha-the-future-of-hindus-in-pakistan-is-bleak/1/138763.html
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/hindus-in-pakistan-victims-of-abduction-forced-conversions-and-oppresion/1/138751.html
No one protested against Poonam's conversion because almost every Hindu family in Lyari has endured religious persecution for years. Kidnapping is routine in Pakistan. But what has shaken the 2.7 million-strong Hindu community in a nation of 168 million Muslims are recent forced conversions of young girls. Many see the incidents as a conspiracy to drive Hindus out of Pakistan.
"We are very worried. We have started sending our young children either to India or to other countries. We are also planning to migrate soon," says 46-year-old Sanao Menghwar from Nawab Shah in Sindh province. He has reason to panic. Research done by local agencies says that on average 25 Hindu girls are kidnapped and converted every month in Pakistan.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/mla-ram-singh-sodha-the-future-of-hindus-in-pakistan-is-bleak/1/138763.html
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/hindus-in-pakistan-victims-of-abduction-forced-conversions-and-oppresion/1/138751.html
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