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| India-Pakistan |
| 'Forced conversion' case: Issue resolved after talks between Punjab govt, Sikh community |
| 2019-09-04 |
| [DAWN] The issue of alleged forced conversion of a 19-year-old girl from Sikhism to Islam has been "amicably resolved to the satisfaction of the concerned families" after negotiations between a high-level government delegation and a 30-member committee of the Sikh community, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar announced on Tuesday. In a tweet from his official account, Sarwar thanked the families of Jagjit Kaur — the girl who was allegedly forced to convert — and the man who had been accused of abducting and forcibly converting her, for coming to the Governor House in order to sort out the matter. "Great news for Pakistani and Sikh communities across the world. Issue of Nankana girl was amicably resolved to the satisfaction of the concerned families. The girl is safe and in touch with her family. We shall continue to ensure the rights of minorities in Pakistan!" the governor tweeted. In a video posted on Sarwar's Twitter account, the father of the man who allegedly forced Kaur to convert and marry him declared that they "will not approach any court for the girl's custody". "If she wishes to go with them (her family), we have no objections. They are her guardians," he said. A representative of the girl's family and the Sikh community also thanked the government, Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Punjab governor for intervening and resolving the matter. Earlier in the day, Indian Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh took to Twitter to claim that the girl has returned to her family in Nankana Sahib. However, the claim has yet to be verified. The matter came to light last week, when a first information report (FIR) was registered in the Nankana police station against six people who were accused of abducting and forcefully converting 19-year-old Kaur. Police had traced the nominated persons to Lahore and had arrested one of them, while three others had obtained pre-arrest bail. The remaining two were at large. After the FIR was lodged, the police were contacted by Sheikh Sultan, who said he was Kaur's advocate and told officials that she had embraced Islam and contracted marriage with Mohammad Hassan of her own free will. |
| Posted by:Fred |