Published 20:47 IST, October 23rd 2019
Activist testifies before US panel to save School Principal in Pak
Sindhi-American human rights activist, Fatima Gul, testified before a US congressional panel and urged the panel to save a Hindu principal accused of Blasphemy
A Sindhi-American human rights activist, Fatima Gul, testified before a US congressional panel that included the committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee Asia, the Pacific and Non-Proliferation in a hearing based on "Human Rights in South Asia: Views from the State Department and the Region" and urged the panel to save a Hindu principal accused of Blasphemy in Sindh's Ghotki area as anti-Hindu riots broke out after the principal was charged with such a serious accusation.
Activist urges Trump administration to save "Hindu principal"
She urged the panel and the Trump-led administration to exert pressure on Pakistan in order to save Notan Lal. In addition to this, she said extremist groups vandalized Hindu temples and houses belonging to the Sindhi Hindu Community in the Ghotki area.
The testimony comes after Notan Lal reportedly rebuked a student for bad behaviour in school and that made the student go to the police station and file a complaint that the principal had insulted the Prophet of Islam. Even though there was no substantial evidence against Notan, the police arrested him and Notan has not been heard since then.
"Pakistan has encouraged discriminatory prosecutions"
Gul added about 75 people have lost their lives and about 40 more people are serving their life sentences because of Blasphemy since the year 1990. She also said a lot of the times, people who are serving their sentences on the charges of Blasphemy, are murdered by other prisoners or even the so-called "religious" mobs for that matter.
Fatima said, according to a report by the Human Rights Watch, Pakistan has not amended any law instead it has encouraged prosecutions that have been termed as discriminatory and abuses against groups that are vulnerable. She said atrocities against minorities such as Hindu, Christians, Hazaras, and Ahmadis are still a common occurrence in Pakistan.
Fatima cited the latest Human Rights Watch report and stated that about 1,000 Hindu and Christian girls were forced to convert to Islam and were then married off to Muslim men. She said that even though there is a Child Marriage Prevention Act in Sindh, the courts remain indifferent in such cases.
A case of forced conversion
One such appalling incident talks about the case of Namrita Chandani, a first-year medical student from Ghotki town in the northern part of Sindh, who was discovered lying on a cot a month ago with a small piece of cloth attached to her neck while her room was locked from the inside.
In this case, there were contradicting statements from the police and the victim's family. While the police stated that Namrita had taken her own life, the family refuted the claims by stating that it was a case of murder.
According to reports, Namrita's brother, Vishal, a consultant in the field of medicine, said that the first round of investigations and check-ups showed that his sister was murdered. The mysterious circumstances under which Namrita died has raised a few eyebrows and led to people questioning whether it was a case of forced conversion or not.
An effort to save Hindu girls
The Sindh Assembly together decided to pass a plan that demanded the illegal practices of forced conversions of Hindu girls come to a complete halt and that such activities taking place would be subject to serious consequences. The resolution was enacted after a couple of months when the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan noted that more than a thousand cases were reported in the country.
(With inputs from agencies)
Updated 23:07 IST, October 23rd 2019