A bipartisan group of 11 US lawmakers have urged Islamabad to safeguard the fundamental rights of a Pakistani Christian woman who was allegedly kidnapped and converted to Islam.
Neha Faqir, an 18-year-old Pakistani Christian woman was allegedly abducted in March and subsequently converted to Islam. Smith, along with ten other members of the US Congress, wrote a letter to Pakistan’s federal minister for law and justice Azam Nazeer Tarar on August 20, expressing concerns over Faqir’s case. The members also referred to Pakistan’s own constitutional protections, including Article 20, which guarantees freedom to profess, practice, and propagate religion, and Article 25, which guarantees equality before the law.
“The circumstances surrounding Neha Faqir’s disappearance and subsequent conversion raise profoundly troubling questions about her safety, freedom of religion, and ability to exercise her rights without coercion or intimidation,” said Smith. “Pakistan’s Constitution protects religious freedom and equality before the law—but this means little if a young woman cannot safely and freely express her own beliefs,” Smith added. He stressed the importance of the case for Pakistan’s religious minorities, who he said, have been subjected to “forced conversions and marriage.”
Congressman Chris Smith, the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, asked the Pakistan government to protect the safety and fundamental rights of Faqir. They urged the government of Pakistan to take “appropriate action to ensure a just resolution of this matter.
