Hindu Girl Forcibly Converted Into Islam, Married Off After Kidnapping In Pakistan

Last Updated:September 01, 2026, 3:15 PM IST

CCTV footages showed that Reeta was kidnapped and valuables were also looted by unidentified men.

Punjab police later recovered Reeta and produced her before a judicial magistrate on Monday. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

A 21-year-old Hindu woman in Pakistan’s Sindh province was allegedly kidnapped, taken to Punjab, pressured to convert to Islam and married off to a Muslim man, before a court on Monday allowed her to return to her family.

Shirimati Reeta, a resident of Rana Rajput Colony in Khipro tehsil of Sanghar district, went missing from her hometown last week, according to a complaint filed by her brother Ravi Shankar.

Shankar alleged that CCTV footage from the family’s residence showed unidentified people taking his sister away along with valuables and mobile phones on August 24.

According to the complaint, Reeta was subsequently taken to Gujranwala in Punjab, around 80 km from Lahore, where she was allegedly pressured to convert to Islam and marry Nazeer Hussain, a Muslim man who was already married.

Punjab Police later recovered Reeta and produced her before a judicial magistrate on Monday.

During the proceedings, the investigating officer sought permission to place Reeta in Darul Aman, a state-run shelter, claiming that she was unwilling to return to her parents.

Her lawyers, Asad Jamal and Kheta Ram, opposed the request, telling the court that Reeta wanted to return home with her brother, who was present in the courtroom.

The magistrate then asked Reeta to record her statement under oath.

“In her statement, Reeta said that she wanted to return to her parents’ home of her own free will,” a court official said.

The court subsequently allowed Reeta to leave with her brother, holding him responsible for her safe custody and transportation back to the family’s home in Sanghar.

The case comes amid longstanding concerns over alleged forced conversions and marriages involving girls from religious minority communities in Pakistan.

Estimates cited by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan have previously indicated that hundreds of minority girls are allegedly subjected to coercion, abduction or pressure to convert and marry every year. Rights groups have said Hindu girls, particularly those from economically disadvantaged and marginalised families, constitute a significant proportion of reported cases.

They have called for stronger legal safeguards and more effective investigations to protect women and girls from vulnerable minority communities.

(with inputs from PTI)

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How widespread are forced conversions in Pakistan?

Forced conversions in Pakistan are described by United Nations experts as a widespread and persistent pattern. Each year, dozens of girls and women from minority communities are abducted, forced to convert to Islam, and married off. In 2025, approximately 75 per cent of the victims of these forced conversions were Hindu, while the remaining 25 per cent were Christian. Nearly 80 per cent of these reported incidents occurred in Sindh province.

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Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a chief sub editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has …Read More

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