The family of Jagjit Kaur has called upon Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan to intervene after their daughter was allegedly forcibly converted to Islam after being told that her brothers and father would be killed if she refused.
The Chief Minister of Indian state of Punjab, which has a large Sikh population, shared a video clip of the family and also appealed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to intervene in the case.
Shocking incident of a Sikh girl being kidnapped & forced to convert to Islam in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan. Call upon @ImranKhanPTI to take firm and immediate action against the perpetrators. Request @DrSJaishankar to strongly take up the issue with his counterpart at the earliest. pic.twitter.com/hpHvD9kkEJ
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) 30 August 2019
Update #PakistanSikhGirl ; member of #PSGPC requested the family . Jagjit Kaur’s family called off their protest till Five PM today evening and if Pak Government failed to bring back Jagjit Kaur than family to begin Protest march from #NankanaSahib to Governor house at Lahore . https://t.co/vh1iRFNtrU
— Ravinder Singh Robin ਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ راویندرسنگھ روبن (@rsrobin1) 30 August 2019
Outraged at the abduction, social media users slammed the Pakistani authorities for failing to protect the country's Sikh minority.
Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal described the abduction as a shameful act.
Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on a Sikh girl allegedly abducted & converted to Islam in Pakistan: It is a shameful act. This issue will be raised and action will be taken. Friends of Imran Khan who are in other parties in Punjab should tell him to put an end to such things. pic.twitter.com/t3w4EahreP
— ANI (@ANI) 30 August 2019
Former deputy Chief Minister of India’s Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal strongly condemned the incident.
#BREAKING ; #PakistanSikhGirl ; #SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal expresses his concern over the abduction and forcefully conversion of a Sikh Girl in Pakistan . @officeofssbadal condemned Pakistan for not providing safety and security to the minorities living in Pakistan . pic.twitter.com/fA7yXaVCs3
— Ravinder Singh Robin ਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ راویندرسنگھ روبن (@rsrobin1) 30 August 2019
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, head of Sikhs’ Gurdwara Management body in Delhi, urged the Indian External Affairs ministry to take up the issue of Sikh safety in Pakistan.
It is disheartening to see 18-year old girls being converted forcefully to Islam in Pakistan!
— Manjinder S Sirsa (@mssirsa) 29 August 2019
We condemn such forceful conversions & urge @narendramodi Ji & @DrSJaishankar Ji to take up the issue of safety of Sikhs in Pak at global level@ANI @republic @ZeeNews @thetribunechd pic.twitter.com/7PUiu34lFZ
Very sad ... what is happening in Pakistan! Why they dont want to mend their ways .. why they are still living in 16th Century!! They are treating their minorities very shabbily and in a very pathetic way.. .. Request Our Central and Punjab government to talk to Pak gov.
— Jawwad Ali Khan🇮🇳 (@JawwadAliKhan8) 30 August 2019
This is a regular affair in Pak. When population of majority muslims is increasing in Pak then how population of minorities is reducing day by day. This is called cleansing in actual terms and not what the leaders of Pak shout day and night.
— Darshan Singh (@darshandadhwal) 30 August 2019
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According to media reports, the girl is the daughter of a Sikh priest.
But in a video posted on social media, the girl reportedly claims to have willingly converted to Islam and to have taken part in Islamic recitations for her wedding.
Here is the video evidence of this incident. Please don't be part of this campaign against Islam and Pakistan. Nankana police is well aware of its duties and right of its peasants. pic.twitter.com/xyTCVfbHjN
— حسن سید (@HASSANSYED8) 29 August 2019
According to Pakistani government statistics, minorities make up around 3.72% of the country's population. According to a 2010 survey conducted by an NGO namely Sikh Resource and Study Centre (SRSC), the population of the Sikh community in Pakistan was estimated at around 50,000.
