Minor Christian girl abducted in Pakistan in March; Human Rights Min now takes cognisance

Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari on Sunday called the incident of abduction of a minor Christian girl from Lahore for alleged sex slavery "a shameful and horrific act." She informed that an FIR has been registered in the case and her ministry is following the case up. "Culprits will be caught," she added. 

"Culprits will be caught'

Deputy Inspector General of Police Lahore commenting on the Twitter post stated Robina Patras, mother of Komal Patras who is resident of Shibli Town, approached the Sanda Police Station on March 16 and reported that her daughter Kamal Patras is missing and some unknown persons have abducted her. "Case FIR No. 405/20 under section 365B was registered and investigation started," he wrote.

According to the DIG, investigation teams have raided two places in Okara but so far she could not be recovered. He informed that both SP Operations and SP Investigation approached parents of Komal Patras and met them in person. "The family has suspected 3 persons to be involved in this incident. Police is making all our efforts to arrest accused and recover Komal on earliest. The family of Komal has shown complete faith in genuine efforts of police for recovery," the DIG added. 

However, Pakistani Journalist Naila Inayat highlighted that FIR was registered back in March when Komal Patras was abducted and alleged that none of the kidnappers was named in the FIR.

Pakistan’s religious minorities continue to suffer

Minorities in Imran Khan's 'Naya Pakistan' have faced discrimination and torture continuously with the abduction of Komal Patras being the latest incident. Religious minorities in Pakistan, including the Hindu and Christian communities, continued to suffer in 2019, facing forced conversions and persecution under blasphemy laws, according to the country's human rights commission.

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The Human Right Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)  said that religious minorities remained unable to enjoy the freedom of religion or belief guaranteed to them under the country’s Constitution. Highlighting the plight of women in Pakistan, the report says in December, Pakistan was ranked at 151 out of 153 by the World Economic Forum on the Global Gender Gap Index.

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(With PTI inputs)