Pakistani Court Sends 'Abducted' Hindu Girl to Child Protection Home Until She Turns 18

On Tuesday, a Pakistani court sent 15-year-old Hindu girl Mehak Kumari to a child protection home for two years or until she turns 18.

She is alleged to have been abducted, converted to Islam, and married off to a 28-year-old man called Ali Raza, a divorced father of four.

After the court order, police have sealed the city of Jacobabad fearing protests from activists who might be expecting the court to hand over the girl to her parents.

A Pakistani Hindu organisation has meanwhile hit the streets and demonstrated to highlight religious atrocities happening in the country.

​The case sparked outrage among members of both the Hindu and Muslim communities after she went missing for five days last month.

On Tuesday, Pakistan human rights activists and members of the Indian community also staged a protest outside the Pakistan High Commission in London against the alleged abduction and conversion of the girl.

​The girl had purportedly recorded her statement before the court in January that she willfully accepted Islam and consented to marry Ali Raza, while her family claims she was abducted and forcefully converted.

The court had directed authorities to get Mehak’s ossification test done to confirm her age. The directive had come after her parents claimed that she was a minor and therefore, her statement should not be taken into account.

A video clip also emerged on social media in which the girl appears with her husband Raza, and identifies herself according to her new Muslim name and claims that she has accepted Islam and married Raza.