New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Monday met the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs JP Singh and requested him to summon the Pakistan High Commissioner with regard to the kidnapping of a Sikh woman teacher in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
This comes as a Sikh woman Dina Kaur was forcibly abducted and converted to Islam on the evening of August 20 in the Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Following the incident, the Sikh community organised massive protests in the province. Dina Kaur, daughter of Gurucharan Singh, was reported to be abducted on gunpoint, raped and married to her abductor with the help of local administration and police.
"Sikh delegation met Joint Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs JP Singh to share our concerns regarding human rights violations of Sikh/Hindu girls in Pakistan in light of the recent event of kidnapping, forceful conversion and Nikah of Dina Kaur in Pir Baba Town," he said. "We have urged the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to raise the issue of security of minorities in Pakistan at a global level. JP Singh Ji has assured us of quick action in this regard," the BJP leader added.
Sirsa while sharing the plight of the abducted father said that Kaur was kidnapped on Sunday and married to an illiterate rickshaw puller. "Later her father went to the police station but the police did not take any action and later, after four hours, it was being said that the woman has been married," he told media.
Expressing anguish over the painful situation the BJP leader said that only a savage person can do such a heinous crime. "Despite pressure from the parents and the Sikh community, the police did not take any action. Police refused to help the parents to meet their daughter."
Seeing the discrimination and oppression, hundreds of Sikhs and other locals in KPK blocked the road and demanded justice. A Sikh protester said, "I appeal to the people of Pakistan and those living abroad that we 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".
He added, "They have not registered our FIR in the police station. We also visited other senior officials but they have not given us any satisfactory answers. They are partners in this crime. With the help of the administration, our child was forced to sign the documents. I appeal to the Sikh community of the world to join us and protest against such crime. We will continue this protest till our child is not handed over to us".
Another Sikh protester said, "We have had good relations with our Muslim neighbours. 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."
Many Sikh families are settled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and they are mostly engaged in businesses. The minority community, including the Sikhs, Hindus and Christians from different parts of Pakistan have been facing persecution and their girls are regularly kidnapped, raped and married to their abductors. Many families from Pakistan have already migrated to India and other countries to protect their daughters and other family members.