Pakistan: 19-year-old Sikh girl who was abducted and converted to Islam returns home

Islamabad, Aug 31: A 19-year-old Sikh girl, who was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan, has now reportedly returned home. Police in Nankana Sahib city of Punjab province has arrested eight people in connection with the case.

The girl was allegedly abducted and forced to marry a Muslim man in Pakistan. The family of the abducted Sikh girl alleged they are also being threatened with forcible conversion to Islam.

The victim Jagjit Kaur was found after a video surfaced showing her forcible conversion and being renamed as 'Ayesha'.

India on Friday raised the issue with Pakistan and asked for "immediate remedial action".
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the ministry has received a number of representations from various quarters of civil society in India, including Sikh religious bodies, at the "reports of the incident of abduction and forced conversion of a minor Sikh girl in Pakistan".

"We have shared these concerns with the government of Pakistan and asked for immediate remedial action," he said.

In a video shared by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Manjinder S Sirsa on Thursday, the family of the girl has alleged that she was forcibly converted into Islam under the threat that her brothers and father would be shot dead. The girl is the daughter of a granthi of a gurdwara in Nankana Sahib. According to media reports, she was allegedly kidnapped and forcibly converted by a gang of local boys.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday to take up the issue of a Sikh girl being reportedly kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam in Pakistan. "Shocking incident of a Sikh girl being kidnapped & forced to convert to Islam in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan," Singh tweeted, tagging a video.

Pakistan then ordered a probe into reports of a Sikh girl being kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam after the incident sparked outrage in India.
Several members of the Sikh community in Pakistan gathered at Gurdwara Sri Nankana Sahib, demanding the release of the victim.