Free will: Christian families face the fire of elopement

The woman’s family threatened to make an example out of them for ‘facilitating’ the elopement.

LAHORE: Following chilling threats hurled at a panchayat held last month, to decide the fate of a Muslim woman from Sahiwal who eloped with a Christian convert from Khanewal, at least 10 Christian families have fled Iqbal Nagar, Sahiwal, since.        

Residents of the area said last month, Shamim* from Iqbal Nagar eloped with Asif from Khanewal who had converted from Christianity to Islam. Shamim’s family called a panchayat last month seeking to recover her. They said when the Christian families of the area told them that they did not know the man, her family threatened to abduct their women and set their houses on fire if they did not bring Shamim back.

Salamat Masih said his mother Sumera Bibi was friends with Shamim.  “She had an over-the-phone romance with a man from Khanewal and would come to our house to talk to him.” He said his mother even told her family about this but they ignored her.

The romance went on for a few months and she finally eloped with Asif last month, he said. Shahkot police registered an abduction case on her family’s complaint on October 8. They accused Sumera Bibi, Asif and two other people from the area of kidnapping Shamim.

Salamat Masih said they held a panchayat in which Shamim’s family threatened to “make an example” of the Christian community of Iqbal Nagar. He said several families in the area fled following the panchayat.

Muhammad Hammad, Shamim’s uncle, said Sumera Bibi promised that she would bring Shamim back. “Why would she make that promise if she wasn’t complicit in the elopement?” he said. Sumera Bibi admitted that she knew about their affair before the panchayat. “Instead of making good her promise, she fled the area with her entire family.”

He said they wanted Shamim back even if it meant sacrificing their lives. “The people of Iqbal Nagar are prepared to raze these Christians’ homes to the ground. We have stopped them for now... but if we don’t get Shamim back, we can’t stop them from taking revenge.”

He said Sumera’s family was lying and pretending that they had nothing to do with. Sumera Bibi has facilitated three elopements in the area so far, the girls in two of the cases were Christian, he said.

Sub-Inspector Riaz Ahmed, the investigation officer for the case, told The Express Tribune that Shamim and Asif had filed a case in the Multan High Court seeking quashment of the abduction case registered with Shahkot police. He said the court disposed of the petition 10 days ago after the couple submitted a copy of their nikah nama. Shamim recorded her statement saying she had married Asif of her free will.

Though the court had told them to produce the original nikah nama before the investigation officer, they had still not done that, he said.

“The Christians of Iqbal Nagar are lying. They definitely facilitated their elopement and have now fled from the area.”

Human Liberation Commission Pakistan chairman Aslam Sahotra told The Express Tribune that the government should take steps to avoid another incident like the one in Kot Radha Kishen.

He said those who had hatched the malevolent conspiracy against the Christian families should be taken to task, he said.

*Names have been changed to protect identities

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2014.