Pastor held in Valley over ‘forced conversions’

The arrest of Khanna followed claims by J-K’s official Grand Mufti,Mufti Bashir-ud-din,that the pastor has “admitted to his role in forced conversions” of Muslims in the valley.

Mufti Bashir-ud-din,who is appointed as the Grand Mufti by the J-K government,had last month called the Christian pastors to the Shariah court following reports of forced conversions in the valley. The pastors were called by the Grand Mufti after a CD,showing pastor Khanna baptizing a group of young Muslim boys,surfaced. The video clip was soon uploaded on social networking sites.

Soon after the CD surfaced,the Grand Mufti,who is also the head of the Muslim Personal Law Board in J-K,raised the issue.

The police registered a case (FIR No 186/2011) of “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion” at the Ram Munshi Bagh police station. Acting on the FIR,the police arrested the pastor on Saturday.

On Thursday,separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also summoned Christian pastors and heads of missionary schools in the valley to discuss the issue of “forced conversions”. However,only some of the pastors — including Father Khanna — summoned by Mirwaiz had met the chief cleric.

The issue of “forced conversions” of Muslims in

the Valley had triggered protests on Friday when students of Kashmir University took to the streets raising slogans against Christian missionaries.

Mirwaiz,who is the chief priest at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid (grand mosque) and the chairman of Hurriyat Conference,has called a meeting of religious scholars of the Valley to discuss the issue.