‘We want to go home’: Hindu minor sisters abducted, converted, married in Pakistan’s Sindh
The alleged abduction and forced conversion of two minor Hindu sisters in Pakistan’s Sindh province has triggered fresh concern among minority rights group, with one organisation calling for an independent probe and safeguards for the girls.According to Voice of Pakistan Minority, Roopi, 13 and Seeta, 14, were allegedly taken from Ibrahim Colony in Tando Allahyar district and later converted to Islam and married to two Muslim men, Amjad Solangi and Mansood Solangi.The sisters were subsequently brought before a court in Tando Allahyar in an abduction case. Instead of sending them back to their family, the court placed them in a safe house, VOPM said.The rights group said the girls appeared distressed outside the court and were heard pleading to be taken home. A video circulating online also purportedly showed the sisters saying, “Let us go to our parents” and “We want to go home.”VOPM said the circumstances surrounding the case made it important that the sisters be heard independently, without anyone who could influence or intimidate them.“The state must interview Roopi and Seeta in a child-sensitive environment, away from alleged husbands, religious figures, intermediaries or anyone who could pressure them. Officials must allow the girls to speak freely and must provide them independent legal support and protection,” VOPM said.The organisation called for an urgent, independent and transparent investigation into the allegations.
Sindh at centre of concern over minority girls
The case has also renewed attention on the vulnerability of Hindu families in Sindh, which has Pakistan’s largest Hindu population. VOPM said the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where poverty, caste discrimination and limited access to legal assistance can leave minority families vulnerable.“This case has caused deep anxiety among Hindu communities in Sindh. Sindh hosts Pakistan’s largest Hindu population, particularly in rural districts where many Hindu families face poverty, caste discrimination and weak access to legal help,” it said.Rights groups have for years raised concerns over allegations involving the abduction, conversion and marriage of minority girls in Pakistan.VOPM cited data from the Centre for Social Justice, included in UK government material, which recorded 421 such cases involving minority girls and women between 2021 and 2024. Hindu women and girls accounted for 282 of those cases, while 72 per cent were reported from Sindh.The organisation said Pakistani authorities recorded at least 83 cases in 2024 alone, with Hindu girls making up 63 per cent of the victims.The concern extends beyond the figures. VOPM also referred to warnings by UN experts in 2026 that nearly 80 per cent of reported cases involving alleged forced conversion through marriage in Pakistan during 2025 took place in Sindh. About 75 per cent of the victims were reportedly Hindus.For VOPM, the immediate focus remains on the two sisters and whether they can speak freely about what happened to them.“Roopi and Seeta’s reported call to return home demands attention. Their protection, age, dignity, and freedom must come before every other consideration,” the VOPM noted.
