January 15, 2009
GUJRANWALA, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Two Christian girls were forced to “convert” to Islam after they were allegedly raped by some four Muslim men.
ANS has learnt that on December 30, 2008, the Rev. Pastor Sharif Alam called the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) to inform about the case of his two Christian daughters, Parvisha, 18, and Sanam, 14. Pastor Alam requested CLAAS to take their case to provide justice to the poor victims.
The trouble for the pair began in November last year when Parvisha received a phone call from an unknown caller, who was later identified as a neighbour.
After introducing himself as the owner of a beauty saloon, the neighbor offered free training in cosmology to Parvisha, who also asked her younger sister Sanam to take the training with her. They both persuaded their parents to allow them to take this training and job. The caller told Parvisha that he would come to pick them from their house.
On November 12, 2008, the neighbor and a friend allegedly drugged the girls after a 30 minute drive. When the girls came to their senses they found themselves locked in a small hotel room in Mianwali (a district 800km away from Gujranwala).
The men, who were allegedly armed with weapons, hurled death threats at the girls. During the night each man is said to have raped both girls. Before dawn they checked out of the hotel taking the girls hostage at gun point and drove them to Karachi where they stayed at a house for six days.
During this time they allegedly repeatedly raped both girls. On the sixth day they took the girls to a local Madressah (an Islamic religious seminary) where they were “converted” to Islam.
The girls were also given new Islamic names. Parvisha was named Sana and Sanam was given Islamic name Tayyaba. After the “conversion” they told the girls that if they cooperated with them they would soon release them. From the Madressah they took the girls to two lawyers.
The lawyers were told that both girls had “converted to Islam” and wished to stay at a government-run shelter instead of going back to home. Instead of helping the rape victims, the lawyers then allegedly took the girls to a flat and subjected them to sexual assaults.
They were said to have dragged Parvisha into a room where they raped her. Sanam woke up when she heard someone yelling for help. Sanam managed to call emergency and the police arrived at the scene very quickly.
One of the lawyers was arrested and taken to the Ferozabad Police Station in Karachi. A Police First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him. Parvisha was immediately transferred to a hospital. Sanam then called her father from the police station informing him of the situation. He immediately rushed to Karachi to bring his daughters back home.
While members of CLAAS team were still talking to the victims and their family, a large crowd of people gathered outside Pastor Alam's house. Chanting slogans, they demanded custody of the “newly-converted” girls. The crowd became hostile and started throwing bricks and stones at Pastor Alam's house. Mr. Joseph Francis, the National Director of Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), and Pastor Alam narrowly escaped a bullet when they were probing into the case.
Sensing gravity of the situation Mr. Francis and Pastor Alam called the local police. The mob caught Pastor Alam's son, Sheraz, and severely beat him. The police arrived when the angry mob was trying to break into Pastor Alam's house. Police managed to disperse the crowd. Police first Information report was lodged against culprits. They also arrested three people in connection with this attack.
Pastor Sharif Alam’s son-in-law has allegedly gone missing since that attack. He accused fundamentalist Muslims of kidnapping his son-in-law in a bid to keep him from pursuing the case.
On January 2, 2009 both girls recorded their statements before the local Magistrate. They stated that they were abducted from their home, raped and then forcibly converted to Islam. They said that they want to live and die in their own religion and at no cost will leave their family.
Copyright 2009 ASSIST News Service
