Police in Pakistan have arrested three men accused of kidnapping and abusing a young Catholic girl
Newsroom (January 20, 2022, 8:35 PM, Gaudium Press) Police in Oquara, Pakistan, have arrested three men accused of kidnapping and raping a Catholic teenage girl.
According to reports, Muhammad Arif, a 30-year-old Muslim, sexually harassed, through SMS messages and phone calls, a 16-year-old Catholic girl.
Faced with the teenager’s refusal, on January 7, Arif with two other accomplices kidnapped the girl and took her to another city where they sexually abused her several times, before letting her leave in inhumane conditions.
The teenager is traumatized by what happened
Ashiknaz Khokhar, a Catholic who fights for human rights in the country, explained that the teenage girl is in a state of shock. “The girl has suffered severe physical and psychological trauma. For now, she cannot even speak because of the shock,” explains the activist.
On January 10, police arrested Muhammad Arif and his two accomplices. This is already the third kidnapping case registered in 2022 within the Christian community.
Ashiknaz Khokhar congratulated the police for their quick and effective action in arresting the perpetrators. “It is necessary to end the culture of impunity,” she said.
Frequent kidnappings and impunity
However, Khokhar explained that there is an increase in kidnapping cases and the government is unable to offer firm measures to protect young women and their families.
A report on women’s rights published in the middle of last year showed that in Pakistan’s Pendjag province, 6745 women were kidnapped in the first half of 2021 alone.
The kidnappings are perpetrated by Muslims against the Christian and Hindu minorities, and the kidnapped young women are often forced to convert to Islam and marry the kidnappers. All this occurs without the perpetrators being punished. (FM)
With information from Fides.
Compiled by Sarah Gangl
