Quetta, Nov 15 (IANS) Minority members of the Balochistan Assembly, Ashok Kumar and Sanjay Kumar, held a protest against the authorities' failure to find Hindu girl, Bindiya Kumari, who was allegedly kidnapped from Sibi in the province, local media reported on Sunday.

Both lawmakers had earlier raised the issue of Kumari's alleged kidnapping and transfer to Sindh in the Assembly. They said that Bindiya Kumari was forcibly converted to Islam and married. During the assembly session, Ashok Kumar and Sanjay Kumar voiced concern over the continued disappearance of Bindiya Kumar and called for her recovery, tje Dawn reported.

Both lawmakers held a protest in the Balochistan Assembly by sitting on the floor in front of the Speaker's dais and shouting slogans. After intervention from other members of the Assembly, Ashok Kumar and Sanjay Kumar ended their protest and returned to their seats.

BNP-Awami Member of Balochistan Assembly Asad Baloch voiced concern over the reported kidnapping of the Hindu girl, describing the incident as unfortunate, Dawn reported.

On November 3, a leading minority rights organisation expressed serious concern over the abduction, forced conversion and marriage of a minor Hindu girl in Pakistan, highlighting the vulnerability of minority children amid escalating atrocities across the country.

According to the Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM), 14-year-old Bindiya Kumari, a ninth-grade student, should be attending school rather than being caught up in allegations of abduction, forced religious conversion, and child marriage.

The rights body said that her case has exposed the gap between Pakistan’s assurances of minority protection and the ground reality, with her family seeking intervention even as lawmakers question the authorities’ failure to act.

It cited minority representatives who have alleged that Bindiya was abducted from Sibi and taken to Sindh, where her conversion and marriage were reportedly facilitated through arrangements linked to Mian Abdul Haq, popularly known as 'Mian Mithu'.

"Authorities must establish the facts through a fair investigation. But fairness does not require silence, and an investigation should never become an excuse to leave a child without protection," the VOPM stated.

--IANS

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