Police asked to modify probe methods in forced marriages

ISLAMABAD: The chairman of one-man Commission on Implementation of Minorities Rights, constituted by the Supreme Court, has directed the inspectors general of police (IGPs) of all the provinces to modify investigation patterns and official hierarchy vis-à-vis probing forced conversions and marriages of minority girls.

Commission head Dr Shoaib Suddle chaired a meeting of the IGPs of all the provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and additional IGP of Islamabad Capital Territory to review the matters pertaining to forced conversions and marriages of non-Muslim girls, and implementation of paragraph 37 of the Supreme Court’s judgment in minority rights suo motu case in 2014.

The commission has also sought recommendations of all the provincial police departments on the implementation of the apex court’s verdict so as to ensure protection of minorities’ rights.

Dr Suddle said the forced conversions of religion and marriages were mostly taking place with Hindu and Christian girls in Punjab and Sindh, which were damaging the country’s image at the global level.

He called for a separate data of such crimes from the provincial police departments so that recommendations could be formulated for proper legislation.

A foolproof mechanism should be devised to ensure proper age determination of the victim girls, he said and added that in case of forced marriages, there should be thorough investigation to verify whether the girls had given their consent willingly or under coercion.

Dr Suddle also directed the police high-ups for taking steps to curb hate speech and material related to minorities, filling vacant positions on minorities’ quota in their respective departments, and raising a dedicated force in their domains for the protection of minorities’ religious places.