by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – A Christian father in Pakistan’s city of Lahore continues to seek justice for his 13-year-old daughter, who was abducted in July by a Muslim man from the same neighborhood.
Despite filing a police report, her father, Shahbaz Masih, said he was stunned to learn that on August 1, a court accepted a statement from his daughter claiming she had voluntarily converted to Islam, declared she was 18, and married her abductor—claims Masih insists are false and coerced.
Worthy News is withholding the girl’s full name as she may be a victim of sexual abuse, and it was unclear whether she consented to publication.
Masih of Lahore in Punjab Province said Shehryar Ahmad, a 30-year-old Muslim, abducted his daughter on July 29 when she stepped outside her home to go to a shop.
“When Maria did not return home, we began searching for her but failed to find her,” Masih told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News service.
“We later learned that Maria had been taken by Ahmad, who lived in the same locality,” he reportedly said.
BROADER PATTERN
Rights groups say her case reflects a broader pattern of abductions, forced conversions, and underage marriages of Christian girls.
Courts often dismiss birth records and hand minors over to alleged abductors, according to legal observers.
The advocacy group Raah-e-Nijaat challenged her marriage and conversion at the Lahore High Court, but the petition was dismissed and redirected to a Sessions Court, which admitted the case on Wednesday.
A legal team plans to present evidence of her minority and argue that the marriage violates the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act.
Lawyers also seek criminal proceedings against Ahmad and others involved, while urging the enforcement of child-marriage laws.
The legal battle comes despite President Asif Ali Zardari signing a law raising the minimum marriage age to 18 nationwide in May. Yet in Punjab, the age remains 16, and under Islamic law, child marriage may still be permitted. Critics say this loophole enables the exploitation of vulnerable Christian girls.
Pakistan ranks eighth on the 2025 Open Doors World Watch List of 50 countries where Christians reportedly face the most persecution.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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