August 20, 2021
By Umar Bacha
HARIPUR
Princy, a Christian girl residing in the Ghazi area of Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa went missing on the night of August the 3rd.
Based on a hunch the girl’s family rushed to the house of a Muslim boy, Zulqernain, immediately after their daughter’s disappearance. Even though the boy along with his family was present at the time Princy could not be found and Zulqernain’s family feigned ignorance.
But on the 7th August Zulqernain’s family came forward claiming that Princy had married their son out of her own free accord and even presented a ‘Nikkah Nama’ to back up their verbal claims.
Princy’s parents claim that Zulqernain’s family is extremely influential in their area and have probably threatened Princy into signing the ‘Nikkah Nama’. Additionally, the marriage is illegal altogether because Princy is not of marriageable age, legally, explains Noreen, mother of Princy. She also asserts that he daughter greeted her with teary-eyed when she met her outside the courtroom and begged to be taken back to her parental home.
The local police finally registered an FIR for Princy’s disappearance on August the 11th, over a week after her parents first informed them of their daughter’s disappearance. Senior police personnel was not present when the Voicepk team went to Ghazi police station, but Muharram Abbas and investigator Javed said that the boy’s father, the boy, had been arrested and the case was under investigation.
According to NADRA’s Form B and her school records, Princy is only 14 years of age while her marriage certificate states her age to be 17 years. has been written in the marriage certificate and court affidavit.
While speaking to Voicepk.net, Javed Masih a local activist from the Christian Community laments that incidents of forced conversion are becoming all too common in his community.
Another local activist Sunil Gail explains that in most incidents of forced conversions the victim belongs to a down-trodden family making it almost impossible for them to pursue lengthy proceedings in the courts. About 140 Christian families are currently residing in the Ghazi area of Haripur and all of them have been struck by chilling fear after this incident.
