Maulvi Abdul Haq alias Mian Mithu banned in UK over allegations of forced marriage and conversion

Maulvi Abdul Haq alias Mian Mithu, a cleric from Sindh has been banned in UK over allegations of forced marriage and conversion

Pakistan has joined the list of 11 countries that face sanctions for human rights violations after Britain banned Maulvi Abdul Haq alias Mian Mithu.

According to the British High Commission, Britain takes faith and religious freedom very seriously and is committed to protecting minorities around the world.

He said that the new restrictions have been imposed on the basis of violation of religious freedom, among them Mian Abdul Haq, the Maulvi of Bharchondi Sharif’s shrine belonging to Ghotki district of Sindh.

The British High Commission said that Maulvi is accused of forced marriages of non-Muslims and minor girls and forced religious conversion. The list of new sanctions does not include any other Pakistani citizen except Maulvi Abdul Haq.

These global restrictions mean that designated individuals cannot engage in economic activity or business with British citizens or businesses and are now banned from entering the UK.

Maulvi Abdul Haq, popularly known as Mian Mithu and allegedly involved in forced conversions and forced marriages of young Hindu girls in Upper Sindh, has denied the allegations on several occasions and claimed that they promote religious harmony in Sindh.

Maulvi Abdul Haq came into the limelight when he allegedly married a Muslim boy named Naveed Shah to a Hindu girl named Runkal Kumari in 2012. went.

Mian Mithu claimed that religious conversion was not forced.

He grabbed the headlines again in September this year when he led protests against an alleged blasphemy incident.

In the year 2008, he won the National Assembly seat on the PPP ticket, but in the year 2012, the PPP refused to give him the ticket.

In 2015, PTI Chairman Imran Khan tried to include him in his party, but after protests from the Hindu community, Imran Khan disassociated himself from Mian Mithu.

In 2021, Maulvi Abdul Haq was invited by the Council of Islamic Ideology to legalize forced religious conversion and marriage, on which other activists criticized the PTI on the social networking website Twitter.

Ulama had expressed reservations over the draft bill, after which a parliamentary panel rejected the bill despite protests from minority members.

It should be noted that Maulvi Abdul Haq is also included in the list of 30 people banned, among them 18 people, including Maulvi, are accused of human rights violations.

At the same time, the sources of the government of Pakistan expressed deep grief and anger and said that because of one person, the name of Pakistan is being defamed at the international level.