Pak: Hindu girl murdered after gang rape

In yet another case of atrocity against minorities in Pakistan, a Hindu girl was allegedly gang-raped and murdered at Qasim Wala Bangla in the Cholistan desert, reported The News International. According to Derawer Police Station spokesman, three accused have been arrested. According to them, the girl’s postmortem has been conducted and the report is yet to come. The girl’s father said she was kidnapped when she went to relieve herself in the desert at midnight, reported The News. The body was found lying near the Bhutta Canal on Thursday. Forced conversion, rape, and forced marriages of Hindu women in Pakistan have recently become controversial in Pakistan. Attacks on minorities in the country have led to condemnation of policies that are discriminatory to religious minorities in Pakistan. At least 42 cases of atrocities against Hindus were highlighted in the regional news channels in Pakistan in the first two months of 2023. These include incidents of abduction, gang rape, forced conversion and mob lynching among others. As per the report by Voice of Pakistan Minority, there were six cases of abduction, forced conversion and marriage reported in local media in the month of January, while five such cases took place in February. The list further mentions at least nine cases wherein the bodies of Hindu victims were found hanging and at least four cases of murder. Earlier this year, Hindu rights activist Mahesh Vasu, in a report to the Ministry of External Affairs, noted that as many as 96 cases of abduction, forced conversion, marriage and gang rape of women belonging to the minority community took place in Pakistan.