Man arrested for marrying and coverting a 13-year-old christian girl in Pakistan

Islamabad, Pakistan – A Pakistani court has directed the police to take in to arrest a man accused of abduction, forcibly converting and marrying a 13-year-old Christian child until the further court hearing in the case later this week. Azhar Ali, 44, will be taken in front of the Sindh High Court in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on November 5, the victim girl's parents’ lawyer told media on Tuesday. Court records approved the development. Aarzoo Raja’s parents have accused Ali of violating Pakistani laws that prohibit minor marriage, and of vigorously turning their child to Islam. “Police have established that they have Azhar captured and they presented him in court today requesting for a remand,” Jibran Nasir stated. Aarzoo, 13, was taken into protecting custody on Monday, officials announced, after the court directed that she be brought to a women’s shelter pending further inquiry in the case. Authorities stated that the victim has not been able to see her parents since moving into government custody. This case has sparked an uproar by several rights groups in Pakistan demanding justice for the 13-year-old. This withdrawal comes weeks after Aarzoo’s parents filed a complaint that Ali had kidnapped their child, forced her to convert to Islam and to marry him, in a case that sparked an uproar by rights groups in Pakistan. In earlier hearings, the court had accepted the validity of the “marriage” after hearing that Aarzoo was over 18 years of age and had converted to Islam. However, the marriage was validated by the high-court in a prior hearing on basis that the girl was 18-year-old, but the recent birth document provided by her parents proved that she is a 13-year-old minor. Girls Not Brides-A UK based rights group coalition stated that 21 percent of girls in Pakistan are married before they turn 18, and the statistics provided by UN Children's rights organisation UNICEF says that over 1.9 million girls are child brides in Pakistan which is the sixth-highest number in the world.

Man arrested for marrying and coverting a 13-year-old christian girl in Pakistan

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