Pakistan - Parsee MNA urges Human Rights Commission to ensure emancipation of abducted Christian girl

Member of National Assembly of Pakistan Isphanyar M. Bhandara has urged the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) to take notice of the incident of abduction and forced conversion of a Christian girl. MNA Bhandara had maintained that this is a genuine case of forced conversion, therefore, the commission must take necessary steps in order to ensure the recovery of the Christian victim.

In this connection, MNA Isphanyar who hails from Parsee community of Pakistan has written a letter to the Chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR). In his letter dated February 8, the lawmaker had requested the commission to carry out an impartial inquiry into the case. The text of is letter is as follows:

Honorable Mr. Justice (Retd.) Ali Nawaz Chowhan

Chairman
National Commission for Human Rights

Dear Respected Justice Ali Nawaz Chowhan Sahib,

I hope this letter finds you in the best of your health and spirits.
Kindly find attached a very genuine complaint of abduction and conversion of a Christian girl.

I request you to kindly look into the matter seriously and help the poor child belonging from Christian community. Your help and kind intervention will be much appreciated by all.

With best regards,

Yours sincerely
Isphanyar M. Bhandara

In keeping with details, Wahid Akhtar son of Muhammad Bashir, resident of Mohallah Kasayian, Rodes Road, Mianapura, Sialkot had abducted and forcibly converted Sana Shahid to Islam. Sana Shahid was forced to marry Wahid on November 9, 2015.

The abductors had produced a fake marriage certificate before the court claiming that the girl had willfully married Wahid and that she had converted to Islam out of her own free will. The bogus marriage certificate produced by the abductors mentions that the girl was 18 years old, however, according to her parents and the birth certificate the girl was 13 years old at the time of abduction. The fake marriage certificate mentioned Sana as an adult who had married the man at her own will but in reality she was a minor at the time of marriage, therefore her marriage was illegal and a crime perpetrated by the abductor.

In the light of facts based upon reality, the abductor Wahid had committed crime breaching the law violating Article 20 (a), Article 25 (a), and Article 36 of the Constitution of Pakistan. Wahid had also violated Penal Code section 365 B, Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 of the land law, and National Action Plan 2014 regarding ‘religious persecution.’