The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder S Sirsa released a video on Twitter through, which he confirmed that Jagjit Kaur, the Sikh girl who was allegedly kidnapped and forcefully converted to Islam, would finally be returning to her family today.
Jagjit kaur has been returned to her family and this is a big victory for all those justice-minded people who fought against forced conversion of minorities in Pakistan
Thanking @MEAIndia and media for supporting us to raise our voice pic.twitter.com/n6HCM22iry
— Manjinder S Sirsa (@mssirsa) September 3, 2019
Kaur will be handed over to her parents after a mutual agreement was reached between the families of the boy and the girl in the house of the governor in Lahore. Sirsa confirmed that the boy’s family has not only sought an apology but also confirmed in front of the governor that they will not raise any claim on the girl in future.
The Akali leader said that he spoke to the girl’s father after the meeting. The DSGMC chief added that he has received a video from Pakistan wherein the families of both the boy and the girl are standing with the governor of Lahore and are stating that now Kaur will return to her family.
Sirsa thanked the government of India and the media for its overwhelming support on the issue and stressed this fight is not only about Kaur but also a fight for all Hindu and Sikh girls who are facing the threat of forceful conversion to Islam and are being forcibly married to Muslim men.
Sirsa also released a list of 31 Hindu and Sikh girls who were abducted forcefully, converted to Islam and then married to Muslim men during last two and a half months in Pakistan.
Today, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had also offered to help Kaur by offering her and her family to settle in India. Lambasting Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan for not being able to help Kaur, Singh tweeted that he extends his full support to the young girl and will be happy to have her and her family settle down in Punjab along with any help needed.
The 19-year-old Kaur was forcibly converted to Islam and made to marry a Muslim man. The daughter of a ‘granthi’ (priest) at Gurudwara Tambu Sahib was allegedly converted on gunpoint. Reportedly, the Pakistan man, who forcibly converted and married Sikh girl is affiliated to 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s proscribed terror outfit Jama’at-ud-Da’wah (JuD).
It was reported on September 2 that Kaur was abducted by one of her classmates, Babar Aman, along with Mirza Dilawar Baig, who is a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party founded by current Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan.
There were widespread protests where PM Khan’s effigies were burnt, slogans were raised to protest abduction, forceful conversion and marriage of a Sikh girl to a Muslim man in Pakistan.
Pakistan is notoriously known for its persecution of not only religious minorities but also ethnic minorities within their own country. The forceful conversion programs have often been unleashed against the minorities especially Christians, Sikhs and Hindus living in Pakistan with utmost brutality. There have been many such cases reported in the recent past.
Recently, a report released by the Members of the European Parliament (MEP) threw light on the plight of religious minorities in Pakistan. The report claims that around 1000 girls from religious minorities are forcibly converted to Islam every year. The numbers might be higher as many cases are not even reported.
