Pakistan: Video of a young minor being tortured for religious purposes

18.03.2022

Marlene Pereira 

Pakistan and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

 A video of a young girl suffering from electric shocks is becoming viral. Allegedly a Pakistan man is doing this type of procedure to force a minor to convert her religion, from Hindu to Musilim. 

 Although the claims haven’t been proclaimed and proved this particular case is being highly controversial. 

The India Today reports “this video does not show the forced conversion of a Hindu girl. It shows an exorcism ritual. The man seen torturing the girl is Haji Muhammad Ullah, a self-proclaimed exorcist from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan” (India Today .2022).

 Regardless of what was the aim of this Pakistan citizen, what is a fact is that another minor girl is in pain, suffering and being tortured in public eyes and not much is done to protect and prevent these events. According to ALT News it’s not even the first time ‘fake faith healers’ perform these types of torture in the name of religion - in August 2020 “Pir Mohammadullah, who was arrested (…) for performing an exorcism on a boy by electrocuting him.” (ALT News. 2022.)

 Young minor girls and boys are still a target for this type of atrocities all over Pakistan. The World Report 2022 released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) revealed a bleak picture of civil liberties in Pakistan. Minorities continue to face violence, discrimination, and persecution, and either authorities or Pakistani government efforts are just to little to provide the necessary protection for the victims and to incriminate and prosecute those responsible.

Sources and further reading:

India Today. (2022, March 15). Fact Check: Video of exorcism passed off as forced conversion of Hindu girl in Pakistan. India Today. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/fact-check/story/exorcism-video-passed-off-as-forced-conversion-hindu-girl-pakistan-1925798-2022-03-15

ALT News. (2022, March 16). Video of a Muslim faith healer performing exorcism shared as Hindu minor girl being converted in Pakistan. ALT News. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.altnews.in/video-of-a-muslim-faith-healer-performing-exorcism-shared-as-hindu-minor-girl-being-converted-in-pakistan/