Accused kidnapped, converted the religion of girl and forcibly married her
Arzoo Raja, a 13-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan was allegedly kidnapped by a middle aged 44-year-old in Karanchi, capital of Sindh Province. Later he forcibly converted her to Islam and married her. On Sunday, the Sindh High Court ordered the girl to be shifted to a shelter home.
Shireen Mazari, Pakistan’s Minister for Human Rights have demanded justice to the girl. She tweeted, “The judge has ordered that the girl be recovered by police and relevant agencies and shifted to a shelter home. Next hearing fixed for Thursday morning (November 5). My lawyer has informed the court that an interview will be filed on my behalf.”
There is a video on social media that is going viral where her family is pleading her to tell them the truth and go home with them, but the girl refuses. She said that she married Ali Azhar, the accused, on her own will and not lured by money. But even if the marriage isn’t forced the girl is still minor and the marriage is considered as illegal according to the Pakistani law that prohibits child marriage.
Her mother said, “the man who abducted her has prepared fake papers to show that she is 18 years old,” as submits a birth certificate that shows that she is 13 years old. Also, the mother pointed out her picture on legal document had also been changed and Human Rights fact finding team revealed that in proceedings of the Sindh High Court, dated October 27.
Police has lodged a complaint against Azhar Ali and arrested his brothers, Syed Shariq Ali, Syed Mohsin Ali and a friend, Danish, for allegedly abducting and forcefully converting her religion.
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