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A fresh case involving two Hindu minors has renewed scrutiny of alleged forced conversions and marriages (Image: Google)
Islamabad: Two Hindu sisters in Pakistan’s Sindh province reportedly broke down outside a court after they were not allowed to return home with their parents, with activists saying the girls repeatedly pleaded to be reunited with their family. The sisters, identified by minority-rights campaigners as Roopi and Seeta, are reportedly members of the Kachhi Kolhi community from Tando Allahyar district. Their family and activists allege that the girls were abducted, converted to Islam and married to Muslim men.
The court subsequently directed that the sisters be placed in a safe house rather than returned immediately to their parents. A video circulated by Pakistani journalist and activist Veengas appeared to show the girls crying outside the court and pleading to be taken home. The girls' exact ages and the circumstances surrounding their disappearance, conversion and alleged marriages have not been independently established through publicly available police or court records.
The case has triggered concern among minority-rights activists, who say the wishes, age and safety of girls should be central to any legal proceedings involving them. Activists quoted the sisters as saying, “We want to go home,” as they waited outside the court following the hearing. Social activist Sorath Sindhu called for the girls to receive independent legal and psychosocial support and urged authorities to ensure that their statements are recorded without outside pressure. Rights campaigners have also called for an independent assessment of the sisters' ages and circumstances before any decision concerning their custody, conversion or alleged marriages is made.
The controversy intensified after journalist Veengas reported that another Hindu girl, identified as 14-year-old Pansi Kohli, was allegedly abducted from Tando Allahyar on September 9, 2026. According to the reports cited by Veengas, six Hindu minor girls in the district may have been abducted and converted to Islam within a period of 10 days. The claims have not been independently verified through publicly available official records.
Tando Allahyar has previously featured in allegations involving the abduction and religious conversion of Hindu girls. In July 2025, families of Khenchi Kolhi, Lata Devi Meghwar and Meena Meghwar filed separate complaints alleging that the girls had been kidnapped and forcibly converted. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan later reported that the three appeared before the Sindh High Court's Hyderabad Circuit Bench and stated that their conversions and marriages had been voluntary. The conflicting accounts in such cases have repeatedly raised questions over whether minors are able to express their wishes freely and whether they have access to independent legal representation.
Sindh is home to the majority of Pakistan's Hindu population and has frequently been the centre of allegations concerning the abduction, conversion and marriage of Hindu girls. Minority-rights campaigners say girls from economically disadvantaged communities, including Kolhi, Bheel and Meghwar families, can face additional barriers in accessing police protection, legal assistance and the courts. Amnesty International has previously documented concerns involving abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of young Hindu women in Pakistan, alongside broader discrimination against the country's Hindu minority.
The latest case has prompted calls for authorities to verify the sisters' ages, investigate the allegations surrounding their disappearance and ensure that the girls can communicate their wishes in a safe environment. If the reported ages of 13 and 14 are independently confirmed, the alleged marriages would raise serious legal questions under Sindh's child-marriage legislation, which establishes 18 as the minimum marriage age. Rights activists are demanding that the sisters receive independent legal counsel and psychological assistance and that their statements be recorded in a child-sensitive setting. For now, the central question remains whether the two girls can safely and freely communicate what happened to them and whether their stated wish to return home will be fully considered by the authorities.
