India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

A report by group that works to promote and protect the rights of children in Pakistan has presented a sorry picture of the kids belonging to religious minorities. According to the report, titled 'The State of Pakistan's Children Report 2011', prepared by Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), last year, 27 Hindu children were kidnapped for ransom in different parts of Sindh. Similarly, 500 Hindu families migrated from Balochistan to India following persecution by extremists. The report said that poor security situation in that province has forced Hindu parents not to send their children (especially girls) to schools, lowering the school enrolment rate among females in the region, the Dawn reports. The report said that following the floods, members of the Dalit community in Sindh were denied access to flood relief camps and even drinking water because of their 'untouchable' status, while Ahmadi students have been especially targeted by hate campaigns. Ten Ahmadi students, including seven girls, and a teacher were expelled from a school in Hafizabad last year on account of their religious beliefs, the report added. The report also cited that over 2,000 girls from various minority groups were forcibly converted to Islam last year through torture, rape, kidnapping and forced signing of marriage contracts. Around 300 Hindu girls are forced to convert to Islam every year, it concluded.

Minorities children in Pak victims of torture, rape, kidnappings and forced marriages: Report