State takes custody of reverted Ghotki sisters for protection
Their lawyer has maintained that both sisters are being harassed and facing life threats.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Two young sisters Reena and Raveena – who had reverted to Islam from Hinduism in Khanpur after leaving their native town of Ghotki– on Tuesday appeared before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking protection for themselves and their spouses namely Safdar Ali and Barkat Ali.
Meanwhile, the court ordered the state to take over custody of the girls, and they were subsequently handed over to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat.
"DC sahab, until the final report is submitted, they [the girls] will remain your guests," Justice Minallah remarked.
"Even if the girls are placed in a shelter home, the federal government must ensure their protection," the judge asserted. "A district and sessions judge will be appointed a guardian in this case."
The IHC chief justice ordered that an SP-rank police officer who is female should appointed on duty with the sisters to ensure their safety.
Both girls were transported to a shelter home from the IHC as the hearing wrapped up.
Their alleged spouses, Barkat and Shafqat, submitted a request for protective bail to the court through their lawyer Umair Baloch. The plea stated that both had been named in the FIR and their arrests should be stopped.
The case was adjourned till April 2.
Yesterday, they filed petition while rejecting speculations on the media that they were abducted and forced to convert to Islam. Their lawyer has maintained that both sisters are being harassed and facing life threats.
The sisters, hailing from Ghotki, stated that they were impressed by the teachings of Islam for a long time, and they “did not accept Islam under pressure or life threats.”
The petition has maintained that both sisters were being harassed and sought security for themselves and their husbands by citing interior ministry, chief minister of Sindh, inspectors general (IGs) of Punjab and Sindh, PEMRA, Minister Ramesh Kumar and Hari Lal as respondents.
Earlier on Monday, police arrested four persons involved in what was being “anticipated” by the media and reports their alleged abduction and forced conversions to Islam from their home in Daharki on the occasion of Holi last Wednesday.
Police arrested father, brother of the Nikah Registrar (officiator of the marriage) and two witnesses of the alleged forced marriage of the Hindu girls during raids in Khanpur.
The action came following notice of the matter by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had also ordered an investigation.
Later, Sindh Transport Minister Awais Qadir Shah met family members of the girls and assured them that the girls would soon be recovered.
Videos of Reena and Raveena’s “Nikah” went viral on the social media, in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls, triggering a nationwide outrage. They were shown embracing Islam in the video.
