Rights
Human Rights/Free Speech/Media
Family members of converted Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur want to leave Pakistan

India Blooms News Service | @indiablooms | 23 Aug 2020, 12:36 am Print

Family members of converted Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur want to leave Pakistan

Islamabad: With minority communities in dire straits, as many as nine  family members of converted Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur from Nankana Sahib in Pakistan have written to authorities asking them to make a passport so that they could leave the south Asian nation.

A letter written to DCO Nankana Sahib as quoted by Zee News reads, "Please be kind to us to hand over Jagjit Kaur to us or have our passports made so that we can live a dignified and safe life in another country."

A court had earlier ruled that Jagjit should go with her "husband" Muhammad Hassan who said that Jagjit alias Ayesha Bibi married to him on her own accord, something that is disputed by her family, Zee News reported.

The letter reads, "Living in a country like Pakistan has become not only difficult but impossible for us. It is a sign of fear that we cannot send our children to school."

It added, "Where we cannot save our honours, how can we save ourselves?... If the tradition of conversion continues like this then I am sorry to say that the day is not far away when there is no minority in Pakistan."

Manmohan, the brother of the Sikh girl, told the Indian news channel that despite promises by the Punjab government, nothing has happened so far.

The letter has been sent to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Bajwa, DG ISPR Babar Iftekhar and Punjab province Governor and CM
, reports Zee News.

Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur was allegedly converted and married to a Muslim man in the country last year.

The incident had triggered an outrage of the Sikh community worldwide and clamour for safety of the minority communities in Pakistan riven by religious fundamentalism.