Ensure justice to 2 Hindu girls, Sushma Swaraj tells Pakistan

New Delhi: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday made it clear to Pakistan that two Pakistani Hindu girls, who were earlier kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam and married off to their captors in Pakistan’s Sindh province, should be “restored to their family immediately” and that justice should be done.

“Forced conversion of Hindu girls in Pakistan : The age of the girls is not disputed. Raveena is only 13 and Reena is 15 years old. Even the Prime Mini-ster in Naya Pakistan will not believe that girls of this tender age can voluntarily decide about their conversion to another religion and marriage. Justice demands that both these girls should be restored to their family immediately,” Ms Swaraj tweeted.

After the recent shocking incident, it may be recalled that the Indian government on Sunday sent an official note to the Pakistan government, asking it to take remedial measures to ensure the safety of minorities in Pakistan. Ms Swaraj had also sought a report from Indian high commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria on the matter.

The incident had also earlier set off a war of words in which Ms Swaraj, in a response on Twitter, blasted Pakistan information minister Fawad Chaudhry, saying she had only sought a report from the Indian commissioner and that this showed that Mr Chaudhry was “jittery” and had a “guilty conscience”. Mr Chaudhry had earlier said it was an “internal issue” of Pakistan and had sought to taunt Ms Swaraj about the treatment of minorities in India, citing “Gujarat and Jammu”.