Rights groups have condemned a Pakistani senator’s claim that a fact-finding team led by him could not find any proof of forced conversions among religious minorities in the Muslim-majority nation.
Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar is head of a parliamentary committee set up to look into the increasing incidents of Muslim men kidnapping Hindu and Christian girls and forcefully converting and marrying them.
“The committee, which also included members from other religions, did not find any trace of kidnapping and illegal confinement of Hindu girls who later gave statements in court. Most cases of forced conversions had some degree of willingness on the part of the girl,” Kakar told reporters earlier in Islamabad.
The Parliamentary Committee on Forced Conversions chief, rejected the validity of minority groups’ complaints. He said the marriages were “con-tracts involving willing girls and due to economic circumstances.”
His statement came after the fact-finding team visited Sindh, where most of the country’s Hindus live and where most complaints came from. The comments drew swift condemnation from rights groups.