Abducted Pakistan-based Sikh girl yet to come home, fake news circulating, claims family

Jagjit Kaur, was allegedly kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim man in Nankana Sahib area of Pakistan's Lahore.

ISLAMABAD: The abducted Pakistan-based Sikh girl, who was forcibly converted and married to a Muslim man, has not yet returned home, said her family. They further refuted all claims of eight persons being arrested in the case and sought the help of the country's Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.

“My sister has not been returned,” said the brother of Jagjit Kaur, the abducted Sikh girl, adding, “A video has been circulated on social media that my sister Jagjit Kaur has been handed over to us and culprits are arrested. I want to say that this is absolutely fake news.”

“There is no update about my sister nor we have got any kind of justice till now. I want to appeal PM Imran Khan shaab and Army chief and Governor of Punjab (Pakistan) to look into this matter and provide us justice,” he said.

Jagjit Kaur, was allegedly kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim man in Nankana Sahib area of Lahore. She was found after a video surfaced showing her forcible conversion and being renamed as 'Ayesha'. The victim's family immediately sought Pakistan PM's intervention in the matter and reached out to the international Sikh community.

On Saturday morning, reports claimed that the Imran Khan government had handed over the girl to her parents and Pakistan Punjab's Nankana Sahib police have arrested eight persons in the case. The family has dismissed the entire report, calling it fake news.

Shiromani Akali Dal spokesman, who's been actively tweeting on the matter, confirmed that Jagjit Kaur has not returned home and was shown to her family from a distance at Pakistan Punjab Governor’s House.

“This is a lie by Pak Propaganda machinery. Parents of Jagjit Kaur were shown their daughter from a distance at Governor’s House. Pak spreading false News so that Sikhs do not hold protest during Intn’l Sikh Convention of Lahore. The girl hasn’t been yet returned to her parents,” tweeted.

This is a lie by Pak Propaganda machinery
Parents of Jagjit Kaur were shown their daughter from a distance at Governor’s House
Pak spreading false News so that Sikhs do not hold protest during Intn’l Sikh Convention of Lahore
The girl hasn’t been yet returned to her parents @ANI https://t.co/FhQeWRkInH — Manjinder S Sirsa (@mssirsa) August 31, 2019

He also shared a video where the victim's brother is heard saying that the girl is yet to come home. “This is the recent video of the brother of Jagjit Kaur who is still not safely returned to her family in Pakistan. We assure our Sikh brothers in Pakistan that we will stand with them until justice is served,” wrote Sirsa.

This is the recent video of the brother of Jagjit Kaur who is still not safely returned to her family in Pakistan
We assure our Sikh brothers in Pakistan that we will stand with them until justice is served. Share maximum with all @ANI @Republic_Bharat @ABPNews @PTI_News pic.twitter.com/g2J9H6dVyL — Manjinder S Sirsa (@mssirsa) August 31, 2019

Sirsa further asked the Sikh community to boycott the International Sikh Convention at Lahore being held on Saturday. “I request Sikh Opinion Leaders taking part in International Sikh Convention at Lahore to boycott this convention until Jagjit Kaur is returned to her parents. We all must stand united to ensure freedom of religion for our Sikh brothers in Pakistan,” he said.

The Pakistan man, who forcibly converted and married the girl, is affiliated to 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's proscribed terror outfit Jama'at-ud-Da'wah (JuD). Saeed, the co-founder of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), is a UN-designated terrorist and carries a bounty of US$10 million on his head.

Several Indian leaders have condemned the incident. India's Ministry of External Affairs and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh asked the Pakistani authorities to take "immediate remedial action" in the incident.

Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh tweeted, “This need to stop here.let’s not get there.every religion is beautiful.don’t force anyone to convert in any..GOD is one..let god only decide which religion we born in.don’t try to become god yourself.strict action should be taken towards this @ImranKhanPTI @DrSJaishankar”

This need to stop here.let’s not get there.every religion is beautiful.don’t force anyone to convert in any..GOD is one..let god only decide which religion we born in.don’t try to become god yourself.strict action should be taken towards this @ImranKhanPTI @DrSJaishankar https://t.co/a3kLDCgsfh — Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) August 30, 2019

Another account claimed that Jagit Kaur was taken back by the Pakistan government and is reportedly in “protection” since formal documentation needs to be carried out. This is yet to be verified by authorities.