The Sindhi Foundation, a Washington, DC-based organisation dedicated to the human rights of Sindhis, has sought assistance from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the recovery of an abducted minor Sindhi Hindu girl, Priya Kumari.
This announcement was made by Sufi Munawar Laghari, the executive director of the Sindhi Foundation, in a press release issued from Geneva on June 27, 2024. Sufi Munawar Laghari, a renowned human rights activist from Sindh living in exile in Washington DC, stated in the press release, “The Sindhi diaspora is issuing an SOS call to the United Nations Human Rights Council to help us rescue an innocent minor Sindhi girl who has been missing for the last three years.”
He asserted that the minor girl is believed to be in the illegal custody of powerful Shahs of Sindh, backed by the Pakistani army. Laghari emphasised that the frequent abduction of Sindhi minor girls and young women, along with their forced conversions, is a matter of grave concern in Sindh.
This situation warrants the immediate intervention of the UNHRC to initiate an international independent investigation into the matter. Laghari demanded, “The UNHRC should exert pressure on Pakistan to immediately return the minor girl Priya Kumari safe and alive to her parents and persuade Pakistan to take necessary measures to stop the abductions of young Sindhi women and minor girls and their forced conversions in Sindh.”
Munawar Laghari also announced that the Sindhi Foundation plans to organise a demonstration against the abductions of Priya Kumari and other Sindhi minor girls and young women, as well as their forced conversions, on July 8th. The demonstration will take place around the Broken Chair sculpture in front of the UNHRC building in Geneva.
Additionally, Sufi Munawar Laghari will present a memorandum to the chair of the UNHRC, informing them of the atrocities committed against Sindhis in Sindh. He has also appealed to people and organisations concerned with human rights to join and express their support and solidarity with Priya Kumari, her parents, and other abducted daughters of Sindh. He urged them to exert pressure on the Pakistani state to stop these forced conversions.
