Sikh girl abducted at gunpoint, raped and converted to Islam in Pakistan; community holds protest

New Delhi: A Sikh girl from Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan was forcibly abducted and converted to Islam on the evening of 20 August. Following the incident, the Sikh community there is organising massive protests. As per reports, Dina Kaur, daughter of Gurcharan Singh, was abducted at gunpoint and then raped and married to her abductor. While her family has approached the cops, no case has been registered. According to a report by The Tribune, Gurcharan Singh claimed the crime had been committed in compliance with the District Police Officer (DPO) and Station House Officer (SHO) of Buner district. According to him, the girl was tortured and forced into conversion, while her family was misled the entire day. Meanwhile, the report quoted former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa asking External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar to intervene so that Dina Kaur and her family can be reunited. He was quoted as saying that it is shameful that the Sikh family watched helplessly as their daughter was being abducted, converted to Islam and pushed for Nikahnama. “Astonishingly, the police didn’t care to register an FIR. It is clear the authorities are hand in glove with the wrong-doers.” Meanwhile, as per a report by news agency ANI, a Sikh protester appealed to the people of Pakistan and those living abroad that they are being oppressed and attacked. “This protest will continue till we get our daughter back. She was forcibly abducted yesterday with the help of the administration. The administration of Buner is involved in it as they tortured her and convinced her to get converted and get married. They misled us for the entire day”. The protester added that the police have not registered an FIR and even after visiting senior officials no satisfactory answers were provided. The report quoted another protestor as saying that they have had good relations with their Muslim neighbours, adding, “Such attacks, torture and forced conversion of our children are not acceptable to us. I appeal to the Muslim and Pashtun brothers to raise our voices for us and help us to get justice. We will not stay here anymore If you don’t stand with us.”