Two Hindu sisters, reportedly aged 13 and 14, were seen crying outside a court in Pakistan's Sindh province after the court refused to allow them to return home with their parents, according to journalists and minority-rights activists.
The family alleged that Sita and Rupi, who belong to the Kachhi Kolhi community, were abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married to Amjad Solangi and Mansoor Solangi. Sindh Renaissance, a US-based Sindhi rights organisation, reported the allegations. The court in Tando Allahyar district subsequently directed that the sisters be moved to a safe house. A video shared by Pakistani journalist and activist Veengas showed the girls crying and repeatedly saying that they wanted to go home.
A day later, Veengas reported another alleged abduction, saying that 14-year-old Pansi Kohli had been taken from Tando Allahyar on September 9. She said reports suggested that six Hindu minor girls in the district had allegedly been abducted and converted to Islam within a span of 10 days.
The latest case has once again drawn attention to the treatment of religious minorities in Pakistan, as well as Tando Allahyar, where similar allegations involving the abduction and conversion of Hindu minors have been reported in the past.
Sindh is home to the majority of Pakistan's Hindu population and has frequently been the centre of complaints involving Hindu girls allegedly being abducted, converted and married to Muslim men. Families from economically disadvantaged Kolhi, Bheel and Meghwar communities are considered particularly vulnerable because they often have limited access to law enforcement, courts, legal representation and political institutions.
Amnesty International has said that “hundreds” of young Hindu women in Pakistan have experienced abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage. The organisation has also raised concerns about continuing discrimination against Hindus in the country, including attacks on temples and businesses and the alleged misuse of blasphemy laws.
Pakistani social activist Sorath Sindhu questioned whether a state-backed effort was targeting Hindu Sindhis who wanted to remain in their homeland and called for urgent action to protect the girls.
HINDU MINOR GIRLS ALLEGEDLY ABDUCTED, CONVERTED AND MARRIED
The sisters, who are from Ibrahim Colony in Tando Allahyar, were brought before the court in connection with a kidnapping case registered the previous week.
People gathered outside the court said the girls repeatedly appealed to be reunited with their family. Veengas described the scene as deeply distressing, saying it was heartbreaking to watch the sisters cry after the court declined to send them back with their parents.
Sorath Sindhu said the girls had clearly communicated their wishes during the proceedings, including their request to return home. She argued that no decision concerning them should be made without ensuring they understood what was happening and could freely express their views.
The activist called for justice, protection and a transparent process that takes the children's interests into account. She also demanded that the girls be allowed to speak directly, receive independent legal assistance and have access to psychological support. Their ages, wishes and welfare, she said, should remain central to any decision.
The court nevertheless ordered that the sisters be placed in a safe house for two days, according to Sindh Renaissance. Their precise ages and the circumstances surrounding their disappearance, alleged conversions and reported marriages have not been independently confirmed through publicly available police or court records.
FAMILY ALLEGES ABDUCTION AND FORCED CONVERSION
Information circulated publicly identifies the girls as Roopi and Seeta, daughters of Raamji. Minority-rights campaigners claim that official records show their ages as 13 and 14.
If those ages are officially confirmed, both girls would be considered children under the Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act, 2013, which establishes 18 as the minimum legal marriage age for both males and females. The legislation also classifies arranging or facilitating child marriage as a cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offence.
Pakistani activist Ayesha Gill described the sisters as children rather than brides or converts. Voice of Pakistan Minority similarly said that their age, safety and stated wishes should have been given priority during the proceedings.
TANDO ALLAHYAR'S HISTORY OF ALLEGED ANTI-HINDU ABUSES
The latest incident is not the first controversy involving alleged crimes against Hindus in Tando Allahyar. In July 2025, the families of Khenchi Kolhi, Lata Devi Meghwar and Meena Meghwar separately filed FIRs at Sultanabad police station, alleging that the girls had been abducted and forcibly converted.
The three girls later appeared before the Sindh High Court's Hyderabad Circuit Bench, where they reportedly stated that they had converted and married voluntarily, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
Around that time, Veengas quoted Lata's mother, Roshini Meghwar, questioning whether Hindu mothers would willingly raise daughters only for them to be converted and asking whether Muslim families would similarly hand their daughters over to strangers or Hindus.
In 2023, a peace-monitoring report documented the alleged abduction of 13-year-old Roshni Meghwar from Nasarpur in Tando Allahyar. The report noted, however, that the allegation was circulated primarily through minority-rights watchdog accounts and did not receive formal coverage in mainstream media.
Minority-rights campaigners in Pakistan have called for the sisters' ages to be independently verified and for them to receive separate legal and psychological assistance. They have also demanded that the girls' statements be recorded in a child-sensitive environment where they can speak freely and without external pressure.
