Amid protest and uproar over the alleged forceful conversion and marriage of a Sikh girl in Pakistan, her in-laws have finally reached an agreement with her parents to let her return home. Taking to Twitter Mohammad Sarwar, the Governor of Punjab province, confirmed the news, saying that the issue was amicably resolved to the satisfaction of the concerned families.
"Great news for Pakistani and Sikh communities across the world. Issue of Nankana girl was amicably resolved to the satisfaction of the concerned families. The girl is safe and in touch with her family. We shall continue to ensure the rights of minorities in Pakistan," Sarwar said in a recorded video message on Twitter.
The 2:20 minutes-long-video shows the girl's in-laws saying that they had withdrawn their claim to the girl and she was free to return to her parents if she wanted. Both the families have confirmed the settlement of the argument in the video.
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Great news for Pakistani & Sikh communities across the world. Issue of Nankana girl was amicably resolved to the satisfaction of the concerned families. The girl is safe & in touch with her family. We shall continue to ensure the rights of minorities in Paistan! #Sikhcommunity pic.twitter.com/ZBiluHTucy
— Mohammad Sarwar (@ChMSarwar) September 3, 2019
The development comes two days after India on Sunday expressed strong concern over the incident and asked the neighbouring country to take remedial action to stop such cases. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said civil society and people of India have strongly condemned the forced abduction, conversion and marriage of the Sikh girl in Pakistan.
In Pakistan's Punjab province, Jagjit Kaur, the daughter of a priest, was abducted and converted to Islam at gunpoint before she was married to a Muslim man, her family alleged in a video. They say she is 18-year-old.
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A video of the girl at the wedding ceremony has also gone viral on social media. In the video, the girl is seen sitting beside one Mohammad Hassan, who married her, and claiming she married him without any pressure.
The Sikh community in Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev, has also held protests over the incident in Pakistan. Several protests were also held in Delhi and other parts of the country as well.