A 16-year-old girl belonging to the Hindu Meghwar minority group has been abducted in the Tando Bagho district of Badin, Sindh.
The abduction follows outrage over the kidnapping, alleged forced conversion and underage marriages of two Hindu sisters in Ghotki on March 20.
According to the Information Department handout, Minister for Minority Affairs Hari Ram Kishori Lal has taken notice of the incident.
Lal has ordered SSP Sardar Hassan Niazi to register the first information report (FIR) immediately and take necessary actions to protect the victim’s family.
The Minister has also requested a detailed report of the incident and issued directions to Director Minority Affairs Mushtaq Ahmad Soomro to contact girl’s relatives and provide them all possible help.
In a statement, he made it clear that it is a criminal act to marry a girl who is under the age of 18.
Underage marriages of girls are banned in Sindh under the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013.
According to Lal, the Sindh government is working to establish the Sindh Minorities Protection Commission and a draft was approved by Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday.
