Mian Mithoo and the systematic abduction and forced conversion of...
Ahmed pak 🇵🇰@Ahmedpak378456
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Nov 02, 2026
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Mian Mithoo and the systematic abduction and forced conversion of Hindu girls in Pakistan
Thread. 🧵
Thread. 🧵
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WHO IS MIAN MITHU?
• Mian Abdul Haq, widely known as Mian Mithu, is a Pakistani cleric and former politician from Ghotki in Sindh.
• Born in 1936, he serves as custodian of the Bharchundi Sharif shrine and has long held influence in the region.
• He sat in the National Assembly from 2008 to 2013 on a PPP ticket, and has since run as an independent.
• He is also a controversial figure who has been accused of forcibly converting hundreds of underage
Hindu girls.
• Mian Abdul Haq, widely known as Mian Mithu, is a Pakistani cleric and former politician from Ghotki in Sindh.
• Born in 1936, he serves as custodian of the Bharchundi Sharif shrine and has long held influence in the region.
• He sat in the National Assembly from 2008 to 2013 on a PPP ticket, and has since run as an independent.
• He is also a controversial figure who has been accused of forcibly converting hundreds of underage
Hindu girls.
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BHARCHUNDI SHARIF: THE SHRINE LINKED TO HUNDREDS OF FORCED CONVERSIONS
• The Bharchundi Sharif shrine, near Daharki in Ghotki District, has been repeatedly linked by rights groups and Hindu community representatives to allegations of forced conversions of Hindu girls in Sindh.
• According to media reports and rights groups, between 2014 and 2017, over 150 Hindu girls were converted to Islam at this shrine.
• Mian Mithu, the shrine's custodian, has been accused of facilitating such conversions, including of underage girls who were later married to Muslim men.
• The Bharchundi Sharif shrine, near Daharki in Ghotki District, has been repeatedly linked by rights groups and Hindu community representatives to allegations of forced conversions of Hindu girls in Sindh.
• According to media reports and rights groups, between 2014 and 2017, over 150 Hindu girls were converted to Islam at this shrine.
• Mian Mithu, the shrine's custodian, has been accused of facilitating such conversions, including of underage girls who were later married to Muslim men.
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THE RINKLE KUMARI CASE
(2012) AND HOW IT MADE HIM NATIONALLY KNOWN:
• Mian Mithu first drew national attention in February 2012, when 17-year-old Rinkle Kumari, a young Hindu girl from Mirpur Mathelo, disappeared from her home.
• Her family alleged she was abducted at gunpoint by Naveed Shah and others linked to Mian Abdul Haq Within hours she was converted to Islam at the shrine (renamed Faryal Bibi) and married to Naveed Shah.
• Within hours she was converted to Islam at the shrine (renamed Faryal Bibi) and married to Naveed Shah.
(2012) AND HOW IT MADE HIM NATIONALLY KNOWN:
• Mian Mithu first drew national attention in February 2012, when 17-year-old Rinkle Kumari, a young Hindu girl from Mirpur Mathelo, disappeared from her home.
• Her family alleged she was abducted at gunpoint by Naveed Shah and others linked to Mian Abdul Haq Within hours she was converted to Islam at the shrine (renamed Faryal Bibi) and married to Naveed Shah.
• Within hours she was converted to Islam at the shrine (renamed Faryal Bibi) and married to Naveed Shah.
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• Two days later, a court in Ghotki heard her say she converted and married by choice. Supporters of the Bharchundi pirs reportedly fired shots in the air outside the court. Her family said she was forced to say this.
• Mirpur Mathelo's police said she knew Shah and chose to marry him. Activist accounts say armed men and Mithu's supporters surrounded the court and the family was kept from her.
• Case moved through local courts →
Sindh High Court → Supreme Court of Pakistan
• In court appearances, Rinkle was reported to have said she wanted to go with her parents. The Supreme Court placed her in a shelter home for several weeks so she could decide without pressure.
• Mirpur Mathelo's police said she knew Shah and chose to marry him. Activist accounts say armed men and Mithu's supporters surrounded the court and the family was kept from her.
• Case moved through local courts →
Sindh High Court → Supreme Court of Pakistan
• In court appearances, Rinkle was reported to have said she wanted to go with her parents. The Supreme Court placed her in a shelter home for several weeks so she could decide without pressure.
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• She later was forced to recorded a statement (in the Registrar's office) opting to stay with her husband.
• Court accepted this and allowed her to remain with him. She was never returned to her family.
• Her family later filed a review petition questioning the role of the police and Mian Mithoo, but the main outcome stayed the same. The case ended with Rinkle (then known as Faryal Bibi) remaining with the Muslim side.
• Court accepted this and allowed her to remain with him. She was never returned to her family.
• Her family later filed a review petition questioning the role of the police and Mian Mithoo, but the main outcome stayed the same. The case ended with Rinkle (then known as Faryal Bibi) remaining with the Muslim side.
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REENA AND RAVEENA CASE
• On 20 March 2019, around Holi, two Hindu sisters from the Meghwar community "Reena and Raveena" disappeared from their home in Daharki, Ghotki.
• Both of the sisters, Raveena and Reena, were roughly 13 and 15 years old.
• Later, they were converted to Islam at Bharchundi Sharif (linked to the same shrine associated with earlier cases), renamed, and taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab, where they were married to Safdar and Barkat, two Muslim men from the same area. Videos of the conversion and nikah went viral.
• On 20 March 2019, around Holi, two Hindu sisters from the Meghwar community "Reena and Raveena" disappeared from their home in Daharki, Ghotki.
• Both of the sisters, Raveena and Reena, were roughly 13 and 15 years old.
• Later, they were converted to Islam at Bharchundi Sharif (linked to the same shrine associated with earlier cases), renamed, and taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab, where they were married to Safdar and Barkat, two Muslim men from the same area. Videos of the conversion and nikah went viral.
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In April 2019, the Islamabad High Court ruled that the sisters (renamed Asia and Nadia) had not been forcibly converted. A five-member committee and a medical board at PIMS assessed them as adults (around 18 and 19) who had converted of their own free will.
The court allowed them to live with Safdar and Barkat, while noting that Pakistan has no specific law against forced conversion.
The court allowed them to live with Safdar and Barkat, while noting that Pakistan has no specific law against forced conversion.
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THE 2019 GHOTKI POGROM
• In September 2019, just months after the Reena and Raveena case in nearby Daharki, Ghotki saw violent attacks on the Hindu community. Following a blasphemy allegation against Hindu school principal Notan Lal, Mobs desecrated temples (including Sacho Satram Das), vandalised the school, and targeted Hindu homes and shops. Supporters linked to Mian Mithu were reported to have led the crowds.
• The violence deepened the sense of insecurity already created by repeated conversion cases involving Bharchundi Sharif and the same local circles.
• In September 2019, just months after the Reena and Raveena case in nearby Daharki, Ghotki saw violent attacks on the Hindu community. Following a blasphemy allegation against Hindu school principal Notan Lal, Mobs desecrated temples (including Sacho Satram Das), vandalised the school, and targeted Hindu homes and shops. Supporters linked to Mian Mithu were reported to have led the crowds.
• The violence deepened the sense of insecurity already created by repeated conversion cases involving Bharchundi Sharif and the same local circles.
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UK SANCTIONED MIAN MITHU FOR FORCED CONVERSIONS
• In December 2022, the UK sanctioned Mian Abdul Haq under its Global Human Rights Sanctions regime for his role in forced conversions and marriages of non-Muslim girls and minors. He was placed under asset freeze and travel ban the only Pakistani named in that package.
• While Britain moved against him for years of documente cases,sindh’s government continued to let him operate freely in Sindh. Despite repeated allegations linked to Hindu girls, no serious action was taken.
• In December 2022, the UK sanctioned Mian Abdul Haq under its Global Human Rights Sanctions regime for his role in forced conversions and marriages of non-Muslim girls and minors. He was placed under asset freeze and travel ban the only Pakistani named in that package.
• While Britain moved against him for years of documente cases,sindh’s government continued to let him operate freely in Sindh. Despite repeated allegations linked to Hindu girls, no serious action was taken.
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• The problem is not only about one person or one place. It is also about the protection and influence given to figures like Mian Mithu.
• When powerful people are accused but still remain protected, minority communities lose trust in the justice system.
• Even after so many cases, Sindh police has not arrested Mian Mithu.
He still remains free, forcefully converting minor Hindu girls and marrying them to Muslim men.
• When powerful people are accused but still remain protected, minority communities lose trust in the justice system.
• Even after so many cases, Sindh police has not arrested Mian Mithu.
He still remains free, forcefully converting minor Hindu girls and marrying them to Muslim men.
