No Consent, No Childhood: Forced Conversions and the Collapse of Minority Rights in Pakistan

“I had three daughters. He took all of them. And my only son.”

These aren't the words of a woman at war. They are the pleas of a Hindu mother in Shahdadpur, Sindh, a province where being born as a minority can mean being robbed of your child, your faith, and your future.

On June 19, 2025, four Hindu children Jiya (22), Diya (20), Disha (16), and Ganesh Kumar (14) were abducted from their home in Shahdadpur, Sanghar District of Pakistan. Within 48 hours, videos began to circulate online showing them reciting the Kalma. Their names were changed.

Their identities erased. Their supposed “conversion” to Islam was celebrated by religious hardliners as a victory while the family, and the wider Hindu community, was left devastated.

This isn't just an individual case, it is a continuation of an unchecked crisis: the abduction, forced conversion, and exploitation of minority girls and boys in Pakistan, particularly in Sindh, where over 90% of the country's Hindu population resides.

A Calculated Crime

The children were not kidnapped by strangers lurking in the shadows. The main accused was Farhan Khaskheli, a local computer teacher known to the family. According to the children's relatives and several investigative sources, the victims were taken to Karachi, where they were confined in a religious institution and made to record videos confirming their “conversion.”

Journalist Nasir Aijaz reported that the children were coerced under threat at gunpoint.

Police, under pressure from the community, acted quickly to locate the children and arrest the suspect. But as is often the case, the legal system proved spineless. At the court hearing, the two adult sisters were declared “free” to remain in their new faith and sent to a pro-conversion shelter. The minor girl and boy were returned to their parents only after the family signed a bond agreeing not to pressure the children into reverting to their original faith.

This wasn't justice, it was judicial betrayal. And it's nothing new.

A Broader War on Faith

What connects these cases is not just trauma, but state complicity. These abductions are part of a broader, violent structure of coercion targeting religious minorities in Pakistan, especially Hindus and Christians.

According to human rights groups, over 1,000 minority girls are forcibly converted each year in Pakistan, the vast majority from Sindh's Dalit Hindu communities. These girls are abducted, forcibly converted, and married to Muslim men often much older under pressure, poverty, and threats. The police frequently refuse to file FIRs. The courts treat child victims as adults. And perpetrators walk free, emboldened by every acquittal.

In most cases, video recordings are used to “prove” the victim's consent. But consent under duress, especially from a 13- or 14-year-old child held against their will, is not consent. It is psychological rape disguised as religious freedom.

Because these are Hindu girls. Christian girls. Poor girls. Dalit girls. Because their families do not have political power, legal access, or social protection. Because speaking out means risking retaliation. Because justice is optional and only for some.

Some apologists claim that conversions in South Asia are a way to escape caste discrimination. But nothing can justify child abduction at gunpoint, falsified documents, and forced marriages. Historical narratives should never be used to excuse modern-day human rights violations.

The Urgency of Now

These cases are a stain on Pakistan's conscience. They are a direct violation of the country's constitution, which guarantees religious freedom. They defy international treaties to which Pakistan is a signatory, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and CEDAW.

And they mock the vision of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who said: “You may belong to any religion or caste or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”

Today, however, religion is the business of the state. And it's being used to strip children of their identities and families of their hope.

If Pakistan does not act now, the next girl kidnapped won't be the last. But she could be the last to believe the world is watching.

Also Read: Toronto Declaration 2025 Calls for Global Action to End Caste Discrimination: See all details