December 15, 2025
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
A prominent Sindh-based minority rights activist, Faqir Shiva Kachhi—chairman and founder of Pakistan Darawar Ittehad—has been living in fear after receiving repeated death threats over his advocacy against the abduction and forced conversion of Hindu girls in the province, in particular the recent case of Sonia Kolhi.
A resident of Umerkot with an office in Mirpurkhas, Kachhi told Voicepk that despite approaching the local police, he has received neither protection nor institutional support.
On December 11, Kachhi posted a video on X warning that his life was in danger. He said that individuals involved in the forced conversion of Hindu girls—commonly referred to as the Sarhindi group—were falsely accusing him of being anti-Islam and anti-state in an attempt to incite violence against him.
“Will our institutions and the government take notice after I am killed?
I am receiving threats of being beheaded. I can be killed at any moment.”
کیا میرے مارے جانے کے بعد ہمارے ادارے اور حکومت نوٹیس لے گی
مجھے سر کاٹ کے مارنے جیسی دھمکیان مل رہی ہین کسی بھی وقت مین مارا جا… https://t.co/Q0gv4NXjLo
— Shiva Kachhi (دراوڙ)🇵🇰 (@FaqirShiva) December 11, 2025
“They want to have me killed like Dr Shahnawaz Kumbhar,” he said. “My only ‘crime’ is raising my voice for Sindhi Hindu girls. I have helped reunite dozens of abducted girls—who were forcibly converted—with their families. We have protested at both national and international levels against the growing number of abductions and forced conversions of underage girls.”
In the video, Kachhi named a cleric, Shahjahan of Samaro—said to be a relative of Pir Ayub Jan Sirhindi—as one of those campaigning against him and branding him an enemy of Islam, the state of Pakistan, and an Indian agent.
“What is my fault?” Kachhi asked. “That I speak about 12- and 13-year-old girls being forcibly converted and made to sign nikah papers? These girls are abducted, taken to their aastanas (dens) after being threatened, blackmailed, and married off under pressure in direct violation of the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, which clearly states that no one under 18 can be married.”
He said it was not the first time he had received threats but described the current campaign as coordinated and dangerous.
“I fear that, like Dr Shahnawaz, they may have me killed,” he said. “They are threatening my life and livelihood. The Sindh and federal governments, as well as intelligence agencies, must take action against individuals who take the law into their own hands.”
Sonia case
Kachhi linked the recent escalation to his involvement in a case from the Zareen Khan Village, in Jhol, District Sanghar, where a minor girl, Sonia Kolhi, was abducted and allegedly forcibly converted under gunpoint at the headquarters of Umar Sirhindi. Her nikah was registered there.
“I helped the family file an FIR under Section 365-B (kidnapping),” he said. “Sections of the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act were also added, and those involved in performing and registering the *nikah* were nominated.”
As part of his work, Kachhi regularly assists affected families in filing police complaints, accessing legal aid, and organising protests outside press clubs across Sindh.
According to estimates by Pakistan Darawar Ittehad, at least 73 incidents of forced conversion, 32 cases of kidnapping, and 26 cases of child marriage were reported in Sindh in 2024 alone. Many of these cases involve families living in extreme poverty, even in districts like Umerkot where Hindus form a significant portion of the population.
Kachhi said his family and colleagues are also under threat due to his activism.
Meanwhile, an unverified message addressed to the senior superintendent of police, District Sanghar (SSP), accused Kachhi of spreading “misleading propaganda” on social media in the Sonia Kolhi case. The message stated that while an FIR had been registered for kidnapping and child marriage, no case had been filed against Pir Ayub Jan Sirhindi, who had issued the conversion certificate.
Speaking to Voicepk, Kachhi rejected the allegations and said he had formally requested security through written applications sent to the Inspector General of Police Sindh, the DIG Mirpurkhas Range, and the SSP Mirpurkhas.
In his application, Kachhi warned that individuals associated with forced conversion networks were deliberately branding him anti-Islam and anti-state to endanger his life. “Our work is humanitarian and focused on justice and child protection,” he wrote. “These false accusations are meant to silence advocacy and incite violence.”
So far, he said, there has been no response from law enforcement agencies or political parties.
‘No support from minority parliamentarians’
Minority rights activist and Founder and Executive Director of Human Rights and Welfare International, Chaman Lal, also expressed concern over the lack of protection for Kachhi. Lal said forced conversions and a high rate of suicides among scheduled castes remain major issues for the Hindu community in Sindh.
He noted that after Kachhi highlighted the first-ever FIR under the Child Marriage Restraint Act nominating Pir Ayub Jan Sirhindi, a campaign was launched against him branding him anti-state and anti-religion.
“In most major forced conversion cases, the Sirhindis are involved,” Lal said. “They are effectively running factories of forced conversions. If someone genuinely wants to convert, they can go to any mosque. The fact that these girls are always taken to the same specific locations clearly shows coercion.”
Lal cited the 2010 Rinkle Kumari case, where armed men allegedly surrounded the court, influencing the outcome. “Whenever there is pressure from religious hardliners, the system backs off,” he said.
He criticised the silence of elected minority representatives and institutions, including the National Commission for Minorities. “If there is anyone consistently speaking for our rights, it is Faqir Shiva Kachhi. Yet he has been left completely unprotected.”
Voicepk got in touch with Rajesh Kumar Hardasani, the PPP Minority Coordinator in District Sanghar for a comment. “I had no idea bout the threats he has been getting, now that I know I will get in touch with him,” he told Voicepk. “The government stands with the Hindu community and we will provide him with protection and ensure he is safe.”
According to Hardasani, the issue had begun when Kachhi had accused the Sirhindi group of being behind the incident.
“Their main beef was that he was accusing them directly,” he says. “When Sonia was abducted , end of November, I was the first one to visit her home and talk to her parents. I checked her B-form and saw she was born in 2009 – only 16 years old. Initially the police lodged a case of abduction, but afterwards the Child Restraint Act was also added. Because while forced conversions is still not considered a crime, child marriage and abduction is a crime. However the FIR was filed against unknown persons.”
Hardasani also said that a positive sign was that the landlords where the Kolhi family had been working, were the first to call the police and reach out, which showed that the Muslim community living nearby were ready to help too and did not support what had happened with Sonia.
Sonia’s family were threatened by abductors
Meanwhile, the family of Sonia Kolhi described the abduction in harrowing terms. “They came with guns and took my 16-year-old daughter,” her mother said. “When we followed them they showed us their guns and threatened to kill us if we raised our voice.” Sonia’s father Babu Kolhi said that he was standing outside with his brother Mithu when the incident happened, and even though they ran after the vehicle, nothing came of it. They next day they even went to the village senior and they were told that Sonia would be returned to them the next day but she is still missing.
Expressions of solidarity have since been issued by the Sindh Human Rights Defenders Network and Front Line Defenders’ South Asia Protection Coordinator, confirming that the threats against Kachhi have been taken seriously at the international level. Both have called on the Pakistani government to immediately and effectively protect human rights defenders working on minority rights.