Minor Hindu girl abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off by members of Muslim community in Pakistan
Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan 
5 March, 2021
Case Summary
In the Husri town in Hyderabad district, Sindh, Pakistan, a 13-year-old Hindu girl named Pooja Meghwar was abducted, forcibly converted and married off to a Muslim man named Ilahi Bakhsh Shah. In March 2021, the victim was working at a textile mill, from where she was abducted. She was then forcibly converted to Islam before being married to Ilahi Bakhsh Shar. The marriage was conducted by a Muslim cleric in the presence of two other witnesses. Her father initially attempted to file a complaint with the police but faced bureaucratic delays and indifference until a Hindu community leader intervened, leading to the registration of a First Information Report (FIR). The case gained momentum when Darawar Itehad Pakistan, representing the Hindu community, submitted Pooja’s child registration document, confirming her status as a minor. After significant delays, in October 2025, a court placed her in a safe house while a medical examination was conducted to verify her age. During a hearing, Pooja ran to her parents, prompting the accused and their supporters to create an intimidating atmosphere in the courtroom. Activists highlighted that despite the court’s interventions, the influence of powerful individuals continued to endanger vulnerable victims. This case highlights the persistent persecution faced by the Hindu minorities in Pakistan, marked by systemic discrimination, violence, and forced conversions. Hindu women, particularly young girls, are often abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off to Muslim men with little to no legal recourse. Temples are frequently vandalised or destroyed, and Hindu communities are subjected to social and economic marginalisation. Blasphemy laws are disproportionately used against Hindus, leading to false accusations and severe punishments. Many Hindu families are forced to flee their homes due to religious intolerance, living in constant fear of attacks. This sustained persecution highlights the dire conditions for Hindus in Pakistan, where their religious identity makes them targets of oppression.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected is - 'Conversion of minor'. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious grooming or brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such grooming or brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. In this case, a fifteen-year-old Hindu girl from the Meghwar community was abducted, forcibly converted, and married to a Muslim man. It is important to note here that the victim was a minor, which means the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. Minors, due to their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. They may not have the ability to fully understand the implications of converting to another religion, and the Muslim perpetrator purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the victim. Since this case exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, it is a blatant act of religious hate, which is why it has been documented here in the hate tracker. Such actions stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert. Therefore, religious conversions, even of minors, are often seen as a badge of honour, totally disregarding the methods used to achieve it. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. This incident is not isolated—it reflects a deeply entrenched pattern of religiously motivated violence against Hindus in Pakistan. Hindu boys, girls, and women are frequently subjected to brutal acts, including sexual violence, abductions, and forced conversions. These attacks are often driven by the belief of religious supremacy in Islam, where the lives of Hindus are considered inferior, which can be violated with impunity. The lack of legal protection, complicit silence of the authorities, and systemic failures of the judicial system perpetuate a climate of fear and injustice. Such cases illustrate how Hindu minorities in Pakistan are deliberately targeted for their faith, reinforcing the urgent need for international scrutiny and pressure to ensure the safety, dignity, and human rights of these vulnerable communities. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began, though it is mentioned that she was abducted in March 2021. Thus, to document this case, we have used an indicative date— 6 March 2021—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering, since media coverage of the incident emerged on October 6, 2025. Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
