Pakistani Hindu Senator Condemns Forced Religious Conversions, Calls for Government Action

He criticised the government's failure to take action against influential individuals perpetrating these human rights violations

Digital Desk: In a passionate address to Pakistan's parliament, Senator Danesh Kumar Palyani, a prominent Hindu lawmaker, expressed grave concerns over the coerced conversion of minority girls in the country. He criticised the government's failure to take action against influential individuals perpetrating these human rights violations.

He posted a video on ‘X’, where he wrote, “The daughters of Hindus are not a booty that someone should forcibly change their religion, Hindu girls are being forcibly converted to religion in Sindh. It has been two years since innocent Priya Kumari was abducted. The government does not take action against these influential people. Senator Danesh Kumar's address in the Senate session. A few dirty eggs and robbers have defamed our beloved mother land  Pakistan. The law/Constitution of Pakistan  does not allow forced religious conversion and neither does the Holy Quran.”

Senator Palyani emphasised that neither the Pakistani Constitution nor the Quran condones forced religious conversion, stating, "The daughters of Hindus are not a commodity to be forcibly converted. Hindu girls in Sindh are being subjected to coercion." He highlighted the case of Priya Kumari, abducted two years prior, as emblematic of the systemic issue.

His remarks come in the wake of UN experts' condemnation of Pakistan's inadequate protection for young women and girls from minority communities. These experts raised alarms about the vulnerability of Christian and Hindu girls to forced conversion, abduction, trafficking, and early marriage.

The UN experts criticised the validation of coerced marriages and conversions by courts, stressing that consent is irrelevant when the victim is a child. They urged Pakistan to uphold its obligations under international law and enact robust legislation to safeguard the rights of all women and girls, regardless of religious affiliation.