At 15, Sitara has just been forcibly married to a 60-year-old man in Pakistan
“It has been almost two months since my wife and I have seen our daughter or heard of her safety and well-being. Only God knows our pain and suffering since the day she was taken from us. "
Sitara Arif is a Pakistani Christian teenager. She worked as a maid for the principal of a public school in Faisalabad, Pakistan. But on December 15, she was kidnapped by a 60-year-old Muslim who forcibly married her and converted her to Islam.
His father, Arif Gill, testifies to Morning Star News.
"I went to the police station to report my daughter's abduction, but they refused to accept my complaint and forced me out of the building. Mrs. Naila is a government employee, and she and her husband have considerable influence over the police, which is why they flatly rejected my application.After repeated humiliation and intimidation to stop pursuing the case, I gave in to my fate thinking that I will not be able to see my daughter again .It has been nearly two months since my wife and I have seen our daughter or heard of her safety and wellbeing.Only God knows our pain and suffering since the day she was taken from us. "
Learning of the situation, Akmal Bhatti, a lawyer and chairman of Minorities Alliance Pakistan, arranged a meeting between the family and the regional police chief of Faisalabad. They protested against the indifference of the police and were able to register, on February 4, a first information report.
"Had the police acted when the crime was first reported, the child could have been picked up sooner, but the extended delay gave the accused ample time to change location," he said. he.
"This is the modus operandi in all cases involving forced marriages of underage minority girls. The accused first rapes the victim, then uses the cover of an Islamic Nikah [marriage certificate] to escape punishment for this heinous crime."
The lawyer reports sources that the defendant had taken Sitara to Islamabad. "We are now putting pressure on the police to find them there", he says before adding, "we nevertheless continue to put pressure on the officials, so that they do not let go of their responsibility" .
"It is time for the state to take responsibility and protect our children from exploitation under the guise of religious conversion."
MC
