LAHORE, Oct 28 : A “forced” conversion of a minority Ahmadi girl to Islam after marrying a Muslim man caused a clash between the two communities in the Punjab province of Pakistan, police said.
The incident took place at Chak (village) 194 Ram Nagar Jeranwala, Faisalabad, some 150kms from Lahore Sunday.
According to a police official, a clash took place between Muslim and Ahmadi communities in the village “over the issue of conversion” of an Ahmadi girl, Khatija, 20. He said the family of the girl alleged that their daughter had been converted to Islam forcibly and married off to the man of the family of Muddasar Ali.
“On Sunday, a clash took place between the family members of both communities that resulted in injury to four. Later in the day, a large number of Muslims surrounded the house of the girl’s family. However, the timely arrival of the police force averted a major clash,” police official Sanaul Haq said.
He added that a case has been registered against some 30 suspects from both sides and made some arrests.
Khatija is reportedly the only sister of five brothers who alleged that the family of Muddasar Ali forcibly converted her. On the other hand, the groom’s family denied the allegation, saying the girl converted willfully after marrying the Muslim man as there was no pressure on her. “She is in love with the groom,” it said.
Haq said that police have been deployed in the village to stop anyone, including local clerics, from exploiting the situation.
Christian and Hindu girls remain particularly vulnerable to forced religious conversion and forced marriage, mostly in Sindh and remote areas of Punjab provinces.
Perpetrators often escape accountability, with police dismissing crimes under the guise of ‘love marriages. (PTI)
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