A parliamentary committee in Pakistan has said that the country has not fulfilled its responsibility to protect religious minorities from forced conversions, according to a media report on Tuesday.
The parliamentary committee on forced religious conversions headed by Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar recently visited parts of Sindh where forced conversions of young Hindu girls have been reported.
During a media interaction on Monday, Kakar said that “the state has not fulfilled its responsibility to protect religious minorities from forced conversions”, The Dawn News reported.
He, however, noted that most of the cases of conversions “have some degree of willingness”.
Replying to a question, Kakar said there are several definitions of forced conversion, and the subject was debated by the committee at length.
“Although conversion to seek a better lifestyle is also considered forced conversion, economic reasons can be considered exploitation and not force, as eventually it is after consent,” he said, adding that there is a thin line between consent and exploitation.
Kakar said people who “encourage girls from the Hindu community to move out and marry according to their own wishes are not as liberal about their own daughters”.