Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Mian Abdul Haq, Pakistan cleric accused of converting Hindu girls to Islam, among individuals sanctioned by UK

British foreign secretary James Cleverly announced the sanctions that are co-ordinated with international partners to mark the International Anti-Corruption Day and Human Rights Day.

Mian Abdul Haq, Pakistan cleric accused of converting Hindu girls to Islam, among individuals sanctioned by UK

The UK on Friday (9) came up with sanctions against 30 people across the world, including Mian Abdul Haq, a Muslim cleric from Pakistan, in a bid to target those it thinks are responsible for violation and abuse of human rights and perpetrate sexual violence in conflict.

Mian Abdul Haq aka Mian Mithu is accused of forced conversions and marriages of girls and women from Pakistan's religious minorities.


According to Pakistan's Naya Daur TV, Haq belongs to an influential family in Sindh province of Pakistan and is an influential political and religious figure in Ghotki in the same province. In 2008, he was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Ghotki on the ticket of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), one of the South Asian nation's major political players.

He is also the custodian of Bharchundi Sharif shrine in Sindh.

However, Haq is somebody feared by Pakistan's minority Hindu communities for he is accused of abducting their girls, often minors, and forcibly converting them to Islam. These girls are also forced to marry Muslim men, including their kidnappers. According to the Hindus, Mithu wields his political power to shield those who kidnap Hindu girls and even influences legal procedures when the victims' families move courts.

Haq is known to rub shoulders with powerful people but the growing reaction against him has seen a number of top political parties of Pakistan, including the PPP, Grand Democratic Alliance, and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf refusing to field him in elections.

Moreover, in 2015, Imran Khan had extended an invite to Mian Mithoo to join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a move that drew widespread criticism from the Hindu community.

Haq rose to prominence after he converted a Hindu girl named Rinki Kumari to Islam in February 2012 before getting her married to a Muslim man. He made the headlines again during the Ghotki riots of 2019 that broke out over allegations of blasphemy against a Hindu school principal. On the face of it, the cleric had nothing to do with the riots or the allegation of blasphemy but later, a video emerged that showed him leading the rioters. Hindu temples, the principal's school, and houses of Hindus were vandalised in the violence that broke out.

It is being claimed that Haq is backed by influential people and his rampage against Pakistan's minority Hindus finds support in them.

Protests have been staged by human rights activists in the past against Haq's alleged act of conversion both in Pakistan as well as in cities in North America such as Toronto, New York, and Houston.

'It is our duty to promote free & open societies'

On Friday, British foreign secretary James Cleverly announced the sanctions that are co-ordinated with international partners to mark the International Anti-Corruption Day (December 9) and Human Rights Day (December 10).

He said, “It is our duty to promote free and open societies around the world. Today our sanctions go further to expose those behind the heinous violations of our most fundamental rights to account. We are committed to using every lever at our disposal to secure a future of freedom over fear.”

The sanctions include targets from 11 nations across seven sanctions regime and as part of the package, the UK has designated eight individuals including Haq under its Global Human Rights regime which allows London to prevent those involved in serious human rights abuses and violations from entering the country, channeling money through British banks, or profiting at the expense of its economy, the UK's foreign, Commonwealth and development office said in a press release.

The other seven individuals that the UK listed are:

  • General Kale Kayihura, a former inspector general of police in Uganda
  • Sadrach Zelodon Rocha and Yohaira Hernandez Chirino, the mayor and deputy mayor of Matagalpa in Nicaragua.
  • Andrey Tishenin, member of the Russian Federal Security Service in Crimea, and Artur Shambazov, a senior detective in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
  • Valentin Oparin, Major of Justice for the Russian Federation, and Oleg Tkachenko, Head of Public Prosecutions for the Rostov region.

Besides, the country also brought sanctions against corrupt actors and perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence. A number of officials from Iran were also sanctioned.

The UK's move came the day after France unveiled plans for new European Union sanctions against Iran over human rights abuses in its security crackdown on popular unrest at home and supply of drones to Russia before its invasion of Ukraine.

[With Reuters inputs]

More For You

Trump plans to meet Starmer 'very soon'

Keir Starmer, Donald Trump. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump plans to meet Starmer 'very soon'

US president Donald Trump said he had agreed to meet prime minister Keir Starmer and that the British leader wanted to travel to the US in the coming weeks.

Starmer's office had said earlier on Friday (14) that he discussed visiting the US on a call with Trump the day before, part of London's efforts to press its case with a US president whose overhaul of trade and foreign policy has shaken much of the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
Man found guilty of rape and murder of Irish backpacker in India

McLaughlin, 28, from County Donegal, was found dead in a field in Goa in March 2017. (Photo credit: Twitter)

Man found guilty of rape and murder of Irish backpacker in India

A COURT in India has found Vikat Bhagat guilty of the rape and murder of Irish backpacker Danielle McLaughlin.

McLaughlin, 28, from County Donegal, was found dead in a field in Goa in March 2017.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alderman Alastair King

King, who serves as the global ambassador for the City of London, will be in Mumbai to discuss trade and investment under his mayoral theme, 'Growth Unleashed.'

Lord Mayor of London to visit India for trade talks

THE LORD MAYOR of London, Alderman Alastair King, is set to visit India for a week starting Saturday, aiming to promote free trade and capital flows between the two countries.

King, who serves as the global ambassador for the City of London, will be in Mumbai to discuss trade and investment under his mayoral theme, “Growth Unleashed.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Pablo-Escobar-merchandise-Getty

Escobar, killed by security forces in 1993, remains a figure of global interest, with his image appearing on souvenirs like T-shirts, mugs, and keychains. (Photo: Getty Images)

Colombia considers ban on Pablo Escobar merchandise

COLOMBIA’s Congress is considering a bill that would ban the sale of merchandise featuring drug lord Pablo Escobar and other convicted criminals.

The proposed law aims to curb the glorification of Escobar, who was responsible for thousands of deaths during his time leading the Medellín cartel, reported BBC.

Keep ReadingShow less
Assisted dying bill: Judge approval scrapped for expert panel safeguard

Polls show most Britons back assisted dying, with supporters calling for the law to reflect public opinion.

Assisted dying bill: Judge approval scrapped for expert panel safeguard

Eastern Eye

THE proposed new assisted dying law for terminally ill people will be amended to remove the requirement that a high court judge sign off on each case, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater said on Tuesday (11).

Opponents of assisted dying said the change would weaken the safeguards around protecting vulnerable people from being coerced or pressured into taking their own lives.

Keep ReadingShow less