12-17-2005, 09:15 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Court tells Pakistani sisters who embraced Islam to meet parents
Posted on 17 Dec 2005
Muhammad Najeeb, Islamabad: The Pakistan Supreme Court Friday directed three Hindu sisters who converted to Islam to meet their parents after their father filed a petition saying his daughters were forced to marry Muslim men and were not allowed to meet him.
Sanu Umra, the father of the three women, had filed the application in the apex court alleging that his daughters had been abducted and forcibly converted to Islam.
However, the women - Reema, 21, Usha, 19, and Reema, 17 - who appeared in the court clad in shawls - said they had changed their religion by choice and were not forced by anyone to convert to Islam.
The three women have changed their names to Nida, Anum and Afshan.
The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising judges Javed Buttar and Tassadaq Hussain Jillani ordered the Karachi police chief to keep the girls in the Edhi Home till further orders and said that their parents should be allowed to meet them.
The women initially said they did not want to meet their parents but on the instance of the court, agreed to meet them at Edhi Home, a centre for homeless women run by the Abdul Sattar Edhi Welfare Trust.
"We have left our home and religion by ourselves and no one forced us into this...we used to listen to Islamic programmes on television and decided to convert to Islam," Reema told the court.
She said that since they feared opposition from their family, they kept their conversion a secret and sought the help of a man named Suleman who, with the help of his two colleagues, took them to Jamiat-ul-Uloom Islamia at Binori town near Karachi, where they are studying and living.
The women told media they had converted to Islam at Jamiat-ul-Uloom Islamia before Ghulam Haider Chunarh, a justice of peace of the government of Sindh province.
Asked if they were going to marry these men, none of the women responded.
The chief justice directed that the parents and relatives of the women be allowed to meet them freely. He said a change of religion did not imply that parents could be ignored and asked the women to respect their family members.
The court also directed police to submit weekly reports about the welfare and arrangements for protection of the women.
However, Raja Hussain, lawyer for their father, said the women had already been forced to marry the three men. He alleged that the women were kidnapped and harassed by the men.
Earlier, their father had lodged a complaint with Karachi police that the three men named Abid, Suleman and Jehanzaib kidnapped his daughters and forced them to convert to Islam. He also alleged his daughters were being kept by the men in a madrassa or seminary.
The alleged kidnappers, who were presented in the court handcuffed, were freed on the court's orders after the women said the men had only helped them and had not kidnapped them.
The Supreme Court also took notice of an application by the Supreme Court Bar Association chief that said some groups were forcing non-Muslims to embrace Islam.
The chief justice said the court would take up this matter in the next hearing.
http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action...s&id=68554<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->SC orders three sisters shifting to Edhi home after embracing Islam
Friday December 16, 2005
ISLAMABAD: Supreme court has issued orders to shift to Edhi Home three Hindu sisters who have embraced Islam.
The directives were issued by the full bench of apex court during the course of hearing of case. Bench comprised Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Justice M Javed Buttar and Justice Tassadaq Hussain Jillani.
Malik Qayyum had filed writ against forced embracing of Islam and non meeting the girls with their parents. These girls were presented in the apex court on Friday. The girls started weeping in courtâ room over the decision for sending them to Edhi home.
The chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry told the girls that they would be kept in Islamabad for some times and it is courtâs promise that they would be later sent again to Taleem ul Quran.
The girls flatly refused to live in Islamabad saying they had embraced Islam in full senses and there was no pressure on them from any quarter.
Chief Justice observed that becoming Muslim is a good thing. Justice Javed Buttar remarked that after embracing Islam, it was obligatory for them to pay respects to their parents like before. It is a Hadith, he added.
The girls replied it was in their knowledge and they were following it.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry allowed one hour to the girls and their father to exchange views in the room of registrar.
Sano Umrao, father of the girls told the court after one hour that he had no objection over entering of his daughters to the fold of Islam and only objection he had that the girls should not live in the madrissah as they faced difficulties to meet each other .there. If three girls quit a home all at once , then what will be the plight of mother there, he questioned. As to why these girls want to live in this particular madrissah when there are several other madrissahs located in Karachi. What is the secret behind it, he added. Zulfiqar advocate appeared on behalf of the girls.
Justice Javed Buttar remarked had he owned a madrissah, he would have not kept these girls there for twenty hours. They should move freely so that the whole matter could look transparent. The girls should go and come back from madrissah daily.
After hearing the arguments the court ordered for keeping the girls in an Edhi home which is nearest to Taleem ul Quran madrissah.
The SC also directed DSP Muhammad Hashim Khan to provide security to the girls on their way to and back from madrissah. DCO and DPO Karachi will supervise the entire matter and the latter will submit weekly report to the court about all the matters.
The court adjourned the hearing till February 24.
These three girls who embraced Islam a few months earlier included Ms Sanam old name Oosha, Ms Afshan old name Reema and Ms Nida old name Eesha.
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=128585<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Posted on 17 Dec 2005
Muhammad Najeeb, Islamabad: The Pakistan Supreme Court Friday directed three Hindu sisters who converted to Islam to meet their parents after their father filed a petition saying his daughters were forced to marry Muslim men and were not allowed to meet him.
Sanu Umra, the father of the three women, had filed the application in the apex court alleging that his daughters had been abducted and forcibly converted to Islam.
However, the women - Reema, 21, Usha, 19, and Reema, 17 - who appeared in the court clad in shawls - said they had changed their religion by choice and were not forced by anyone to convert to Islam.
The three women have changed their names to Nida, Anum and Afshan.
The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising judges Javed Buttar and Tassadaq Hussain Jillani ordered the Karachi police chief to keep the girls in the Edhi Home till further orders and said that their parents should be allowed to meet them.
The women initially said they did not want to meet their parents but on the instance of the court, agreed to meet them at Edhi Home, a centre for homeless women run by the Abdul Sattar Edhi Welfare Trust.
"We have left our home and religion by ourselves and no one forced us into this...we used to listen to Islamic programmes on television and decided to convert to Islam," Reema told the court.
She said that since they feared opposition from their family, they kept their conversion a secret and sought the help of a man named Suleman who, with the help of his two colleagues, took them to Jamiat-ul-Uloom Islamia at Binori town near Karachi, where they are studying and living.
The women told media they had converted to Islam at Jamiat-ul-Uloom Islamia before Ghulam Haider Chunarh, a justice of peace of the government of Sindh province.
Asked if they were going to marry these men, none of the women responded.
The chief justice directed that the parents and relatives of the women be allowed to meet them freely. He said a change of religion did not imply that parents could be ignored and asked the women to respect their family members.
The court also directed police to submit weekly reports about the welfare and arrangements for protection of the women.
However, Raja Hussain, lawyer for their father, said the women had already been forced to marry the three men. He alleged that the women were kidnapped and harassed by the men.
Earlier, their father had lodged a complaint with Karachi police that the three men named Abid, Suleman and Jehanzaib kidnapped his daughters and forced them to convert to Islam. He also alleged his daughters were being kept by the men in a madrassa or seminary.
The alleged kidnappers, who were presented in the court handcuffed, were freed on the court's orders after the women said the men had only helped them and had not kidnapped them.
The Supreme Court also took notice of an application by the Supreme Court Bar Association chief that said some groups were forcing non-Muslims to embrace Islam.
The chief justice said the court would take up this matter in the next hearing.
http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action...s&id=68554<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->SC orders three sisters shifting to Edhi home after embracing Islam
Friday December 16, 2005
ISLAMABAD: Supreme court has issued orders to shift to Edhi Home three Hindu sisters who have embraced Islam.
The directives were issued by the full bench of apex court during the course of hearing of case. Bench comprised Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Justice M Javed Buttar and Justice Tassadaq Hussain Jillani.
Malik Qayyum had filed writ against forced embracing of Islam and non meeting the girls with their parents. These girls were presented in the apex court on Friday. The girls started weeping in courtâ room over the decision for sending them to Edhi home.
The chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry told the girls that they would be kept in Islamabad for some times and it is courtâs promise that they would be later sent again to Taleem ul Quran.
The girls flatly refused to live in Islamabad saying they had embraced Islam in full senses and there was no pressure on them from any quarter.
Chief Justice observed that becoming Muslim is a good thing. Justice Javed Buttar remarked that after embracing Islam, it was obligatory for them to pay respects to their parents like before. It is a Hadith, he added.
The girls replied it was in their knowledge and they were following it.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry allowed one hour to the girls and their father to exchange views in the room of registrar.
Sano Umrao, father of the girls told the court after one hour that he had no objection over entering of his daughters to the fold of Islam and only objection he had that the girls should not live in the madrissah as they faced difficulties to meet each other .there. If three girls quit a home all at once , then what will be the plight of mother there, he questioned. As to why these girls want to live in this particular madrissah when there are several other madrissahs located in Karachi. What is the secret behind it, he added. Zulfiqar advocate appeared on behalf of the girls.
Justice Javed Buttar remarked had he owned a madrissah, he would have not kept these girls there for twenty hours. They should move freely so that the whole matter could look transparent. The girls should go and come back from madrissah daily.
After hearing the arguments the court ordered for keeping the girls in an Edhi home which is nearest to Taleem ul Quran madrissah.
The SC also directed DSP Muhammad Hashim Khan to provide security to the girls on their way to and back from madrissah. DCO and DPO Karachi will supervise the entire matter and the latter will submit weekly report to the court about all the matters.
The court adjourned the hearing till February 24.
These three girls who embraced Islam a few months earlier included Ms Sanam old name Oosha, Ms Afshan old name Reema and Ms Nida old name Eesha.
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=128585<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->