“The Prime Minister has ordered an investigation on a case-by-case basis of incidents of forced conversions of minor girls belonging to minority communities, particularly Christian and Hindu, to find reasons for this issue,” Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Religious Harmony, stated at a joint press conference on the 30th of November. “Law and rights are equal for all. Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and daughters of minorities are our daughters as well.”

“Forced marriages, forced conversion of religion and abduction of underage girls of other religions in the name of marriages will not be tolerated,” Ashrafi continued. “The human rights ministry, in consultation with other stakeholders, is working out a mechanism to eliminate the fear of forced marriage among non-Muslims.”

According a study conducted in 2014 by the Movement for Solidarity and Peace Pakistan, many of the victims of forced conversions are minors. Sexual assaults and fraudulent marriages are used by perpetrators to entrap victims and authorities are often complicit.

Source: persecution.org