Pakistan Senate panel declares forced conversion un-Islamic

A Pakistani Senate committee, on Tuesday, declared the forced conversion of Hindu girls to Islam as un-Islamic and appealed to the government to adopt a comprehensive mechanism for the protection of women belonging to minority communities.

"Forced conversion of girls to Islam is against the teachings of Islam and also a violation of law in the country," said Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs' Chairman Hafiz Hamdullah.

He said that religion is a personal matter of every individual, and an individual can not be converted by force, the Dawn reported.

Leader of House in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq also stated that compelling anyone to convert is against the teachings of Islam.

"We are already under observation from human rights organisations due to growing incidents of force conversions," Haq added.

Senator Gian Chand informed the committee that Hindu girls in Sindh are the victims of force conversions and incidents of force conversions in Sindh are alarming.

Chand said that police and local administration do not help the victims or their families in cases of forced conversions.

"Police does not take action fearing the reaction of the Muslim community," Chand said.

The standing committee appealed to the government to adopt a comprehensive mechanism for the protection of women belonging to minority communities.

The committee also directed the federal and provincial governments to draft legislation which would curb the practice.

Last year, a move to criminalise forced religious conversions and to prevent misuse of the blasphemy law was endorsed by the members of the Senate's Functional Committee on Human Rights.