Pak parliamentary panel orders fresh probe into minor Christian girl's abduction

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani parliamentary committee has ordered a fresh inquiry into the abduction of a minor Christian girl in Punjab province's Faisalabad city after being convinced that police mishandled the case.

The 13-year old was freed five months after some Muslim men allegedly abducted her, forcibly converted her to Islam, and then one of them married her, the Dawn News reported.

A meeting of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights was held on Thursday and it discussed the issues of forced conversion and marriage.

Faisalabad police officials told the committee that they had received a complaint from the family of the girl that a man named Khizer Hayat allegedly abducted the girl.

But the girl's recorded statement said otherwise.

The police maintained that the girl in her statement recorded before a magistrate said she had left her home voluntarily and embraced Islam and got married.

The police officials told the committee that the girl had also undergone a medical test and according to the doctor's report she was between 16 and 17 years old.

However, during the committee meeting, the girl's father presented a certificate issued by National Database & Registration Authority (Nadra) which showed her as 13 years old.

The members of the committee raised questions over the investigation process and declared that the certificate issued by Nadra was authentic proof of the girl's age, rejecting the doctor's report.

As a proof, the family members also presented her twin brother's Form B, the daily said.

The girl's father also registered a complaint with the committee about the behaviour of the police over which the committee expressed its regret.

The chairman of the committee apologised to the family of the minor girl and demanded that legal action be taken against those responsible and proper protection be provided to the family.

The committee also directed the senior superintendent of police (SSP) Faisalabad to investigate the whole matter and submit a report to the committee on January 6.

The SSP assured the committee that the matter would be investigated and a charge-sheet would be issued to the concerned investigating officer.