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Forceful abduction, rape & conversion of a minor Christian girl to Islam in Pakistan

News Intervention Bureau
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Forceful abduction, rape & conversion of a minor Christian girl to Islam in Pakistan

In a harrowing incident that underscores the systemic failure of Pakistan’s legal and societal frameworks, a 12-year-old Christian girl was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to a Muslim man, as authorities displayed a disturbing delay in rescuing her. The case has spotlighted a troubling pattern of religious persecution and violence against minority girls in the country.

On August 9, Muhammad Asad abducted Fairy Shaukat, the youngest daughter of a widow and mother of eight children, from the Habibabad Mandi area in Pattoki Tehsil, Kasur District of Punjab Province. Despite repeated pleas for help, police forces were sluggish in their response, reflecting a broader systemic indifference to the plight of minority communities.

This incident is part of a distressing trend in Pakistan, where Christian and Hindu girls are abducted, raped, forcefully converted, and married off to their abductors. Such acts are not isolated; they form part of a broader pattern of violence and exploitation aimed at religious minorities. Even minor girls are vulnerable to forced religious conversion, abduction, trafficking, early and forced marriage, domestic servitude and sexual violence

The Paki establishment is the perpetrators of these crimes. Forced conversions and marriages are sanctioned by courts through the application of vague religious laws, which offer perpetrators legal cover to retain victims against their will. This legal system effectively empowers these vile abductors and undermines the rights and protections to victim minority girls.

Forceful abduction and conversion of Hindu woman into Islam in Sindh

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Forceful abduction and conversion of Hindu woman into Islam in Sindh

A 28-year-old Hindu woman from Matiari district, Sindh, has become the latest victim of a deeply heart wrenching trend affecting religious minorities in Pakistan. Identified as Meera, daughter of Adoo Kolhi, she converted to Islam and adopted the name Shahnaz after marrying 25-year-old Waqar, son of Hashim Bhambhro, from Jhuddo Sindh.

Shahnaz said that her conversion and subsequent marriage have put her life in grave danger. She said that her relatives, including her brothers Dealo, Dhero, Chito, and Vero, have issued threats against her, causing her significant fear for her safety. Shahnaz has appealed to authorities for protection.

This case is a part of disturbing pattern where Hindu women are increasingly targeted. Daily, minority girls and women are abducted, raped, and forcibly converted, often being killed or married off to their abductors. These women are frequently coerced into testifying in court against their families, falsely claiming consent to the conversion under intense pressure.

Reports indicate that many girls are abducted, subjected to abuse, and coerced into conversion and marriage. Often, these victims face intense intimidation and threats, leading them to make statements under duress, further exposing the systemic exploitation of religious minorities.

Sindh, which has the highest population of Hindus in Pakistan, witnesses the majority of these forced conversion cases. The systematic Islamization of religious minorities has resulted in a severe decline in their population within the Islamic Republic.

The Pakistan’s legal and social systems are complicit in the exploitation of minorities. The ease with which such cases are manipulated and the lack of effective protection for victims reveal a disturbing alignment between societal norms and institutional indifference.

Retaliating to OP Herof, Pak Army mutilates & dumps 9 Baloch youth bodies

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Retaliating to OP Herof, Pak Army mutilates & dumps 9 Baloch youth bodies

In a grim and alarming development, nine mutilated bodies have been discovered in various districts of Pak-occupied-Balochistan, highlighting the intensifying violence and brutality against the Baloch people. The discovery of these bodies is a stark reminder of the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by the Paki establishment against the Baloch population, with a clear escalation in the systematic oppression and human rights violations in the region.

The bodies were found in two locations: five were recovered from different areas in the Khuzdar district, and four were exhumed from shallow graves near the Pyrex Saleh Sheikh Goth area in the industrial city of Hub. Among the victims, six have been identified as Fayyaz Jatak, Nisar Ahmed Zehri, Naeem Ahmed, Saeed Ahmed, Saeed Ghulamani, and Saeed Mira Ji, all of whom were forcibly disappeared by Pak Army and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) over the past month. The identities of the remaining victims are yet to be confirmed.

This bloodshed is in retaliation to the August 26 attack on the Bela Army camp by the BLA, the pro-independence organization that launched Operation Herof. The attack caused significant damage to the Pakistan Army, resulting in the loss of over 130 personnel and extensive infrastructure damage.

The discovery of these mutilated bodies signals a renewed escalation of the Baloch genocide policy by the Pakistan Army. This disturbing trend reflects the occupied-state’s unyielding reliance on violence and repression to maintain control over Balochistan. The situation in the region is rapidly deteriorating into a full-blown humanitarian crisis, with innocent civilians, particularly young people, being brutally murdered and their bodies discarded without dignity or respect.

This pattern of violence has been a consistent tactic of the Paki establishment in its campaign against Baloch sarmachars. In many cases, forcibly disappeared individuals are later found dead, their bodies bearing signs of torture, only for the Army to label them as insurgents posthumously. This strategy, aimed at suppressing dissent and terrorising the Baloch population, has not only failed to quell the freedom movement but has also exacerbated the suffering of civilians, who bear the brunt of this relentless conflict.

The ongoing conflict in POB has reached a critical point, where the indiscriminate killing and enforced disappearances of civilians have become tragically routine. The discovery of these nine bodies is just the latest episode in a long history of Army-sponsored violence that has left countless families in mourning. This violence must stop immediately, and justice must be served for the countless lives lost in this conflict.

Operation Herof: Pak Army threatens families of fallen Baloch freedom fighters

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Operation Herof: Pak Army threatens families of fallen Baloch freedom fighters

The Pakistan Army has once again displayed its oppressive tactics by targeting the families of Baloch freedom fighters who have sacrificed their lives for the independence of their homeland.

Reportedly, the Pak military and intelligence agencies are coercing the families of Baloch sarmachars involved in Operation Herof to publicly denounce the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). These families are being pressured to create videos condemning the BLA, with threats of forced disappearances or even murder of their relatives if they refuse to comply.

This deplorable act is just the latest in a long history of atrocities committed by the Paki establishment against the Baloch community. Since the forcible annexation of Balochistan in 1948, the Pakistan Army has relentlessly oppressed the region, abducting and killing thousands of Baloch activists, students, and civilians. The Army has systematically exploited POB’s rich natural resources, leaving its people impoverished and marginalized, while suppressing any voices of dissent with brutal force.

In this latest incident, the families of those who participated in Operation Herof, a bold and significant resistance movement by the BLA, are being targeted. The operation, launched on the night of August 25 and 26, saw BLA forces block key roads and launch attacks on Pak military installations, resulting in the deaths of over 130 soldiers and intelligence officers.

Among the martyrs was Mahil Baloch, a law student from Turbat University who carried out a self-sacrificing attack on a central Pak military camp in Bela. Rather than acknowledging the deep-rooted grievances that drive such acts of resistance, the Pak Army has chosen to sink even lower by threatening the families of these brave revolutionaries.

The persecution of Baloch families is a stark reminder of the Army’s desperation to maintain its illegitimate control over Balochistan. The world must take notice of these gross human rights violations and stand in solidarity with the Baloch people, who continue to resist against the tyrannical rule of the Pakistan. The Baloch struggle for independence is a just cause, and the sacrifices made by their revolutionaries should be honored, not met with cowardly threats against their loved ones.

Pashtun businessman found dead in South Waziristan after disappearance

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Pashtun businessman found dead in South Waziristan after disappearance

Recently, the body of Fazal Manan, who had been subjected to enforced disappearance, was discovered in South Waziristan. Manan, a businessman from the Mohmand District involved in the clothing trade, went missing several days ago in Makin, a heavily monitored area surrounded by military checkpoints.

This tragic incident is yet another example of the daily challenges faced by the people of Pakhtunistan. Recently, terrorists from groups such as Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) have begun patrolling areas near the Afghanistan border, further destabilizing the region. While ordinary citizens are subjected to constant body searches and questioning at security checkpoints, these militants move freely and without restraint.

A pamphlet circulating on social media, written in Pashto, also said that TTP militants have taken “complete control” of the Peer Tharee area in Shalobar and Bhutan. The pamphlet also said that these militants have begun patrolling Pir Mela Bazaar and surrounding areas, as Pak forces have abandoned their positions.

The situation paints a grim picture: if it’s not the Punjabi-dominated Pakistan Army causing havoc in the Pashtun community, then it’s the very militants they once supported who have now gone rogue, wreaking havoc on the region.

POB: Pak Army’s latest crackdown sees abduction of six Baloch youth

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POB: Pak Army’s latest crackdown sees abduction of six Baloch youth

In a disturbing continuation of a decades-long pattern of repression, Pak forces have once again targeted the youth of Pak-occupied-Balochistan, abducting six individuals from various regions of the province, including Barkhan, Karachi, Kharan, and Kech. These abductions are part of a systematic campaign by the Pak Army, which has been tightening its grip on Balochistan ever since its forceful occupation of the region in 1948.

In Barkhan, Asif Jan Baloch, a senior member of the Barkhan Youth Alliance, was summoned by the Kohlu Commandant at noon, only to vanish without a trace. This incident follows a familiar and sinister pattern where the Pak Army’s apparatus is used to silence those who dare to organize or voice their concerns against the ongoing military occupation and exploitation of Balochistan’s resources.

Similarly, in the Nasirabad area of Kech, forces abducted Nadeem Beyous two days ago, and he too has disappeared. His family is left in the dark, with no information on his whereabouts—a common tactic employed by the Pak military to instill fear and prevent any form of resistance.

The situation in Kharan is equally harrowing. Just before the evening prayers, Pak forces abducted two young brothers, Bakhtiar and Kamran, sons of Muhammad Ghaus Yalanzei, from Chief Chowk. Their family is now staging a sit-in at Red Zone Kharan, a site notorious for housing the offices of intelligence agencies that have been implicated in countless enforced disappearances. The family’s desperate plea for the release of their sons highlights the ongoing terror faced by Baloch families at the hands of the military.

In Karachi, a city far from the borders of POB but not immune to the reach of the Pakistan military, Hasnain, son of Khalid, a resident of Baloch Abad Kech Mand, and Rehman, son of Aslam, a resident of Pishin, Western Balochistan, were abducted by personnel from Karachi Police and intelligence agencies. Taken from Lyari’s Eight Chowk area, they have been moved to an unknown location, continuing the pattern of enforced disappearances that the occupied-state uses to crush any form of dissent.

Family members who have sought answers from local police have been met with denial and ignorance, with the occupied-authorities claiming that intelligence agencies may be responsible. The sporadic activation of the abductees’ phone numbers only deepens the fear that they are being held under conditions designed to break their spirits and silence them permanently.

Since the forcible annexation of Balochistan in 1948, the Pak military has waged a relentless campaign against the Baloch people, who have been subjected to systematic marginalization, exploitation and violence. The abduction of Baloch youth has become a hallmark of this campaign, aimed at erasing any voice that challenges the military’s stranglehold on the region. These latest disappearances are not isolated incidents but are part of a larger strategy to suppress the Baloch identity, culture and resistance.

North Waziristan: Suicide attack on Pak Army backed peace militia

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North Waziristan: Suicide attack on Pak Army backed peace militia

A suicide bomber attacked a local peace militia in the Razmak Bazaar area of North Waziristan, resulting in several deaths and injuries. The attack occurred, with the bomber detonating explosives while Army personnel, including surrendered Taliban commander Osman alias Lion, were present at the scene.

Reportedly, the suicide bomber, riding a motorcycle, carried out the attack during a security operation involving the peace militia. While Commander Osman survived the explosion unscathed, multiple members of the local militia were reported killed or wounded.

A local Taliban commander said that the attack was a reaction to security agencies’ attempts to use the Pak Army against “good Taliban” in tribal areas. This perspective implies that the incident was part of a broader conflict involving shifting alliances and local resistance.

As of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, attacks on security forces and their allies in the region are frequently claimed by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group.

Kupwara Operation: Indian Army executes one Pak- backed terrorist

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Kupwara Operation: Indian Army executes one Pak- backed terrorist

A terrorist has been killed in a joint anti-infiltration operation conducted by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir police in the Kupwara district. The operation, which began on the night of August 28-29, was prompted by intelligence inputs indicating potential infiltration attempts in the Tangdhar area.

In a statement posted on X, Chinar Corps confirmed the operation, saying, “Based on intelligence inputs regarding likely infiltration bids, a Joint anti-infiltration Operation was launched by #IndianArmy & @JmuKmrPolice on the intervening night of 28-29 Aug 24 in general area Tangdhar, Kupwara. One terrorist is likely to have been neutralised.” The operation is still ongoing.

Simultaneously, a search operation is underway in the Rajouri district following an exchange of gunfire between terrorists and security forces on August 28. The operation was initiated around 9:30 PM in the areas of Kheri Mohra Lathi and Danthal. According to Jammu and Kashmir police, contact with the terrorists was established at approximately 11:45 PM, leading to a confrontation near Kheri Mohra. Further details are awaited.

Jammu and Kashmir Crisis

Amid escalating terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army has significantly increased troop deployment in the Jammu region to enhance security and address emerging threats. This bolstering of forces includes deployments in Kathua, Samba, Doda, Badarwah, and Kishtwar, with additional troops arriving from the Western Command. This deployment shift is unprecedented since the April 2020 Chinese face-off and is aimed at intensifying efforts to eliminate terrorist threats.

The Jammu and Kashmir region has seen a sharp rise in terror attacks over the past month and a half, resulting in the deaths of numerous security personnel. Notably, nine civilians were killed in a terror attack in Reasi on June 9. The timing of these attacks coincides with heightened political instability following the recent general elections. On the day of the Prime Minister’s oath-taking, the Reasi attack occurred, and since then, terrorist activity has increased. The political shifts following the general election, where the Modi government fell short of a majority and became more focused on domestic issues, appear to have provided Pakistan with a strategic opportunity to intensify its terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the Jammu region.

POB: Pak Army abducts journalist Hayat Khan Khetran

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POB: Pak Army abducts journalist Hayat Khan Khetran

In a disturbing and all-too-familiar scenario, journalist Hayat Khan Khetran from Pak-occupied-Balochistan’s Barkhan district has been forcibly disappeared, reportedly on the orders of a Pakistan Army Colonel. This latest incident is yet another grim chapter in the ongoing exploitation and oppression faced by the people of POB at the hands of the Pak military.

The family of Hayat Khan has confirmed the Frontier Corps (FC) of being responsible for his abduction, specifically naming Colonel Babar Khalil of FC Kohlu’s 86 Wing. Their plea for his safe return has so far fallen on deaf ears, as the occupied-government remains silent, complicit in these acts of repression.

The Pakistan Army’s grip on POB has long been characterized by a brutal campaign to suppress any form of dissent. The province, rich in natural resources, has been systematically plundered by the occupied-state, with little to no benefit trickling down to the local population. Instead, the people are met with repression, as the military tightens its control, often resorting to enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, and other human rights abuses to maintain its dominance.

Activists, journalists, and anyone who dares to raise their voice against Pak Army’s exploitation find themselves targeted. The enforced disappearance of Hayat Khan Khetran is not an isolated incident; it is part of a wider strategy to marginalize and intimidate those who speak out against the injustices perpetrated by the Paki establishment. Journalists and activists in POB are on the front lines, constantly at risk of being abducted or killed simply for doing their job—reporting the truth and advocating for the rights of their people.

The people of POB deserve more than a life lived in fear. They deserve the right to speak, to dissent, and to demand a fair share of the wealth that their land provides. It is high time that the Pak military’s stranglehold on the province is challenged, and the voices of the oppressed are amplified rather than silenced.

Rawalpindi’s battle to finish Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party faces struggles

Nilesh Kunwar
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Rawalpindi’s battle to finish Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party faces struggles

Less than two weeks after the May 9 protests in which military assets and facilities in Pakistan were targeted by incensed mobs, Pakistan Army’s media wing Inter Services Public Relations [ISPR] issued a press release stating that Army chief Gen Syed Asim Munir had said that “legal process of trial against planners, instigators, abettors and perpetrators involved in 9 May tragedy has commenced under Pakistan Army Act [PAA] and Official Secret Act as per existing and established legal procedures derived from the Constitution of Pakistan.”

Despite public outrage against the Army’s arbitrary decision to try civilians under PPA, Pakistan’s National Assembly dutifully defended Rawalpindi’s contentious decision, maintaining that “Across the world, the right of inquiry against people involved in incidents such as attacks on military installations lie with the Army.” This claim in itself is debatable and is tantamount to the victim serving as both the jury and judge during trial of the accused, thereby brazenly violating the fundamental principle of natural justice.

Stating that “It is alarming to note that the Pakistan Army has stated its intention to try civilians under military laws, possibly in military courts,” Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International [AI] Dinushika Dissanayake has rightly pointed out that “Trying civilians in military courts is contrary to international law.” [Emphasis added]. In October 2023, a five-member bench of Pakistan’s Supreme Court declared that the trial of civilians in military courts was unconstitutional.

Rawalpindi is nevertheless going ahead and there’s no doubt that come what may, in the end it’ll have its way!
 
ISPR has craftily played-up the foreign hand narrative by suggesting that the May 9 riots were orchestrated by New Delhi and by participating in it, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf [PTI] supporters had betrayed the nation. It’s no secret that in Pakistan, anti-India rhetoric is the most effective and enduring stratagem to galvanise public opinion and that’s why many agree with the Army’s logic that since the May 9 rioters had humiliated the Pakistan Army, strong retribution against this unprecedented act was necessary to restore Rawalpindi’s ‘izzat’ [honour].
 
The Pakistan Army’s concern for maintaining its honour and image is however very selective. In November 2023, the Supreme Court of Pakistan in its written order on a complaint of extortion and intimidation levelled by the owner of a private housing scheme against former Inter Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, stated “The allegations are of an extremely serious nature, and if true, undoubtedly would undermine the reputation of the federal government, the armed forces, ISI, and Pakistan Rangers, therefore, they cannot be left unattended.”
 
Alleged involvement of a serving three-star General in an extortion case is indeed a very serious matter as it reflects rather poorly the Pakistan Army’s already faltering image. Hence, one had accepted that like the May 9 riots case, Rawalpindi would insist that this case should be investigated and tried by the Army. But for reasons unknown the Army demurred and by its own admission opened investigations against ex-ISI chief only after the Supreme Court’s explicit directions issued in November 2023 to do so.
 
However, what has finally emerged is even more surprising.
 
Rawalpindi’s investigations have concluded that the allegations of extortion and intimidation against Lt Gen Hameed have been found to be true. While confirming that “appropriate disciplinary action has been initiated against Lt Gen Faiz Hameed [Retd], under provisions of Pakistan Army Act,” ISPR has also revealed that “In addition, multiple instances of violation of Pakistan Army Act post-retirement have also been established.”  
 
That “multiple instances of violation of Pakistan Army Act” by the former spy master escaped notice of the Pakistan Army’s highly rated spy agency ISI is hard to digest. Who would ever believe that had the Pakistan Army not been directed by the Supreme Court to investigate extortion and other related allegations against the former ISI chief, then the multiple violations of PPA committed by him would have gone unnoticed?
 
Though details of these violations have not been specified, given the proximity of the former ISI chief with Khan, what ISPR is implying is obvious. The timing of this revelation itself raises strong suspicions that Rawalpindi has adroitly used directions of the Supreme Court on investigating corruption charges against the former ISI chief to further its own motivated agenda against the cricketer turned politician and has hence linked Lt Gen Hameed’s transgressions with the PTI chief and his party.
 
Yet, despite cornering the former ISI chief, Rawalpindi will think twice before taking any strict action against him because it knows that this could well open a can of worms. Lt Gen Hameed has been directly involved in several covert Army dealings like the 2017 Rawalpindi facilitated Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s [TLP] sit-in at Faizabad against the anti-Nawaz Sharif government.
 
The former ISI chief is also privy to Pakistan Army’s secret talks with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP] and reasons behind undue concessions made this terrorist group like unconditional release of its convicted fighters and surreptitiously allowing TTP cadres to make a systematic comeback in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [KP].
 
By being the first foreign official to visit Kabul and that too just days after US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and even before the Taliban interim government was formed, Lt Gen Hameed unambiguously endorsed former US President Donald Trump’s 2018 observation that “they [Pakistan government and Army] give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan.” 
 
Surprisingly, despite the inopportune timing of this visit and his much publicised tea session there that severely embarrassed both Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the Pakistan Army didn’t initiate any disciplinary action against him and no prizes for guessing why!
 
Despite Rawalpindi’s multi pronged attack, its efforts to render former Prime Minister Imran Khan and PTI politically irrelevant haven’t fully succeeded. Whoever has given Gen Munir the idea of using Lt Gen Hameed as a weapon for delivering the coup de grâce to Khan’s political existence may not have realised that the former ISI chief is no pushover, and that just like Khan, he too will not go down without a fight.
Rawalpindi’s ongoing fight to politically finish Khan will only further aggravate political instability in Pakistan and such the only option for Gen Munir is to sheathe the sword and talk it out with Khan. But this is easier said than done because in Pakistan where the military ‘selects’ prime minister, for an Army chief to negotiate with a politician is not only blasphemous  but also an unacceptable blow to Rawalpindi’s fiercely protected ‘izzat’!   
 
 
 
 

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