Malick Asghar Hashmi

This is the scene any country should be ashamed of happening on its soil!

A 13-year old girl is sitting on the carpeted floor under the watchful eye of Pakistan notorious religious preacher Peer Mian Abdul Haque alias Mian Mithu who is seated on a charpai; surrounded by a mob of mostly men – young and old - and a few children.

Mia Mithu recites something – probably from the Holy Quran. The girl follows him in a feeble voice that is not audible. The crowd cheers her by singing and showering currency notes on her. This is the celebration of a Hindu girl child having become a Muslim.

The girl child is Kavita, daughter of a minority Hindu community member,Takth Kumar of village Kandhkot of ​​Sindh province of Pakistan. The 13-year-old was kidnapped; lodged in Mian Mithu seminary and then publically ‘converted’ after hr debriefing for several days

A few close up shots, apparently clicked by someone from the crowd with his mobile - Kavita is seen as visibly terrified and nervous child, the reasons for which are obvious.

Mithu Mian is the notorious one-man Hindu to Muslim conversion machine of Pakistan. He has enjoyed influence and patronage by the powers that be, though everyone, including the Peer himself, has denied his involvement in religious conversion of Hindus. The latest video nails his lies and also makes authorities take action against him. It may be recalled that in Pakistan's Sindh province, marriages of girls below 18 years of age are prohibited.

This law was made to address the complaints of Hindu girls being forcibly converted in the name of marriages.

 Last year, the report of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, expressed concern about the increasing human rights abuses of the country's minorities, and the conversion of 1,000 minority girls, mostly Hindus, every year.

Graph of Crime against Minority girls in Pakistan

 In another report, the Sustainable Social Development Organization, an NGO that looks after the interests of the minorities in Pakistan, says 32 child marriage, 4,321 rape and 15,714 cases of kidnapping of non-Muslim girls were reported in Pakistan in 2020.

In between the video, one can hear the cries of a man, most probably of the hapless father of Kavita, in the backdrop of the celebrations.

The video has been shared on Twitter by the Voice of Pakistan Minorities. The portal monitors and highlights the excesses against non-Muslims in the Islamic country. 

Look at the atmosphere how can a girl say that she was forced???
She was scared to death. A 13 yr old minor belonging to #Hindu community has been forcibly converted to Islam by notorious Mian Mithoo and later married off in Ghotki, Sindh. #StopConvertingMinorities pic.twitter.com/YdECGVqW96

— Voice of Pakistan Minority (@voice_minority) March 10, 2021

Mian Mithu is a self-styled Holy man who has been involved in inciting violence against Hindus in Sindh. Pakistani minorities have raised the issue of his openly challenging the law of the land on the international forums and yet he is roaming around freely.

He was arrested a couple of times and released soon after.

According to media reports, he keeps abducted girls inside the dargah. They are made to serve him and after some timem like Kavita, each one ends up at the Hindu-to-Muslim conversion ceremony and are married off to Muslims.

Kavita was given an Islamic name Umin and married off to a young person with a defect in his hand.

Takhat Kumar has lodged a report of the kidnapping and conversion of his child with the police. As a proof of her daughter’s age, he has submitted her school leaving certificate. According to the document, Kavita has cleared her fifth standard; she was enrolled in the school on 01 April 2015 and left on 30 April 2020. It’s clear that she is not more than 18 years old under any circumstances.

Kavita's school leaving certificate

Mian Mithu is thus caught red handed violating the Child Marriage and Religion Act of Pakistan.

Last year he had his brother Aslam were involved in inciting violence against Hindus in Gotki. A video showing their involvement had gone viral on internet and yet both remained untouched.

It’s alleged that Mian Mithu has tacit support of all the political parties in his religious conversion campaign. He was featured with Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa in pictures posted on social media.

He is close to Pakistani intelligence agency Inter Service Intelligence (ISI). A picture on social media where he is practising shooting in a Military area has gone viral on social media earlier.

Mian Mithu was elected a member of Pakistan’s national assembly in 2008 on the ticker of Pakistan peoples’ Party. However, due to his controversial acts, the PPP distanced itself from him.

 In the subsequent general election, the Grand Democratic Alliance first decided to make him a nominee but soon withdrew the offer following criticism.