Interfaith dialogue calls out forced conversions

Four decades of calls for religious harmony have yielded little progress on the ground, speakers at an interfaith dialogue in Hyderabad said, raising concerns over alleged forced conversions, the abduction of Hindu girls and the weak enforcement of laws protecting religious minorities in Sindh.

The dialogue, organised by the Christian Study Circle at a local hotel, brought together political figures, religious leaders, lawyers and social activists, who called for collective action against extremism, discrimination and abuses targeting vulnerable communities.

Former MNA Neelam Kumari alleged that Hindu girls were being abducted, forcibly converted and married, describing such practices as unlawful. She said she was in contact with the senior superintendents of police in Umerkot and Ghotki regarding efforts to recover a girl reportedly abducted from Umerkot.

Kumari said Pakistan had passed various laws and bills to protect minority rights, but their implementation remained inadequate.