Vatican diplomat: UN should probe kidnap of Pakistani Christian woman

(June 16, 2011) A Vatican diplomat called on the U.N. agency that deals with human rights to investigate the case of Farah Hatim, a 24-year-old Pakistani Christian woman who has been kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam and marry. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's representative to U.N. organizations in Geneva, said Hatim's kidnapping and forced conversion are emblematic of abuse of freedom of conscience and religion in Pakistan. He made his remarks in an interview with the Vatican missionary news agency, Fides on June 15. Fides has reported that Hatim, a nurse, was kidnapped May 8 from the city of Rahim Yar Khan by a Muslim man with the intent of marrying her and forcing a religious conversion. Archbishop Tomasi said Hatim's kidnapping was one of many similar cases and that freedom of religion was a critical problem in Pakistan. He said that while the Catholic Church, Catholic humanitarian organizations and some state officials were working to obtain her freedom, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights should look into her situation. At the moment, her family is not able to communicate with her, the archbishop said. One of the main problems, he said, was a Pakistani justice system that does not protect the rights of minorities. Fides says that as many as 700 women, mostly Christian and Hindu, have been forced to convert to Islam and marry against their will.