A Karachi-based Christian woman, only 18, was thrown from the second-floor building of her own home for refusing to “marry” a local Muslim man who was running a trafficking ring.
Tahir Abbas, 22, resides in the same Pakistani city as Beenish Paul and became infatuated with the 10th-grade student when he saw her going to school one day.
He began stalking her and regularly pursued her. However, she understood this attention more innocently, and because of his persistence, she eventually accepted him as a friend because she had the impression that he sincerely liked her.
Feigning love, Abbas proposed to Paul and then attempted to blackmail her into marriage after she noticed some suspicious behavior. At this rejection, Abbas became angry and insisted they get married.
Paul continued to reject his proposition, and Abbas pushed the teenager from the second floor to the ground.
She was immediately taken to the local hospital, where doctors informed her that her backbone and leg bones were displaced and broken.
Abbas then bribed the hospital administration members to hide her medical report.
Police harassed Paul’s parents when they attempted to hold the criminal accountable. However, the family obtained a First Information Report, and police arrested Abbas.
Abbas filed a counter-allegation against Paul’s family, claiming they attempted to kill him at their house and that he killed Paul while escaping.
The case has drawn the attention of the community at large.
A statement by Muslim social activist Jibran Nisar identified Abbas as the ring leader of a trafficking grooming gang that lures young women with promises of marriage in order to trap them with criminal intent in mind.
In his statement to the press, Nisar said the gang is connected to a political party that wields a lot of power over people in the area.
Nisar’s statement also confirms the couple was in a relationship, but Abbas pushed Paul off the balcony when she attempted to confront him with the truth about his involvement in the gang.
Paul’s life hangs in the balance while her family still faces enormous pressure.
This incident has raised more questions about the story of Pakistani Christians and the country’s justice system, that has failed to avenge to the peaceful minority community in Pakistan.
“We believe that this mindset is the reason why Tahir Abbas was unafraid of harming Beenish Paul and these men dominating and supporting unjust thinking needs to be stopped,” Nasir says. “We are proud of Beenish Paul’s father, who didn’t stay quiet but raised his voice against the injustice that was committed against Beenish Paul to get justice for his daughter.”
Nasir is not the only one speaking out on Paul’s behalf.
Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, says, “A grave injustice has been done against young Beenish. She has been groomed by Tahir, a member of a human trafficking gang made up from influential Muslims. Now, beyond simply being lured into a confusing and predatory relationship by this young Muslim man with notable ill-intent, through her folly, she has been implicated in a major fraud and almost certainly permanently disabled. With her mobility gone and now suffering extreme pain as she recovers from the physical and emotional pain from the wounds inflicted upon her by a sexual predator and misanthrope, she will struggle to maintain her fortitude and sanity during what will no doubt be a difficult court process.
“The very fact that innocent victims like Beenish have to undergo stressful court proceedings with little hope of justice is evidence enough for me that Pakistan is not ready to be received as a democratic nation with any real belief. If anything, the prolonged persecution of minorities should be met with the stiffest sanctions from more equal nations in the West. However, as always, real politick based on trade and the need for dialogue continues to ruin any positive effects of diplomatic relations with Pakistan,” he concluded.
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