Grand Jamia Mosque in Bahria, Lahore, Pakistan. (Meemjee, Artistic Commons)
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Day by day Worldwide–Morning Star Information) – A Christian household is in search of justice after their 16-year-old daughter was kidnapped, forcibly transformed to Islam and presumably married to a Muslim prayer chief, in line with her father.
Faqeer Masih, a brick kiln employee from Handaal village in Kot Radha Kishan, Kasur District, Punjab Province, stated his daughter Neha Bibi had been attending stitching lessons for six months at a middle run by the wives of 45-year-old prayer chief Sajid Ibrahim.
Neha went to the middle on March 24 however didn’t return dwelling, Masih stated. When the household approached the middle to inquire about her whereabouts, Ibrahim’s two wives, recognized as Ruqaiya and Nargis, advised them she had already left for dwelling, he added.
“We continued to seek for her, however after we couldn’t hint her, we went to the police,” Masih, member of an area evangelical church, advised Christian Day by day Worldwide-Morning Star Information. “They didn’t take note of our pleas for assist.”
Masih stated officers delayed registering a First Data Report (FIR) and didn’t initially act on their grievance.
The household later discovered that Ibrahim and his wives had additionally left their residence, elevating suspicions about their involvement within the woman’s disappearance.
Police registered an FIR on April 2, naming Ibrahim and his wives as suspects, however Masih stated authorities made no speedy effort to find them. He added that the investigating officer later knowledgeable the household that Neha had appeared earlier than a court docket in Lahore and acknowledged that she had transformed to Islam of her personal free will.
“We have been devastated to listen to this. It’s apparent that she might have been transformed for the aim of marriage,” Masih stated.
He stated delays in police motion might have allowed time for the conversion and court docket assertion to be organized and that the suspects might have influenced the police. The investigating officer, Assistant Sub-Inspector Muhammad Asif, was not instantly out there for remark.
Ejaz Alam Augustine, a Christian member of the Punjab Meeting, stated he visited the household after studying of the case and raised the matter with police authorities.
“I contacted the investigating officer and later senior district police officers, urging them to make sure the restoration of the woman,” Augustine stated, including that officers had assured him efforts have been underway to hint the suspects and find Neha.
The case has drawn concern inside Pakistan’s Christian group, significantly amid latest authorized developments involving underage minority women.
Augustine linked the incident to a controversial Feb. 3 ruling by Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court docket within the case of 13-year-old Christian woman Maria Shahbaz, whose marriage to a Muslim man was upheld regardless of allegations of abduction and compelled conversion. Rights advocates criticized the ruling, arguing that questions of age and consent weren’t adequately examined.
Advocacy teams say such instances mirror broader patterns affecting minority communities, significantly Christian and Hindu women from economically weak backgrounds.
Augustine stated the case may additionally check police’s response below a not too long ago promulgated provincial ordinance that raises the minimal authorized age of marriage to 18 for each genders and classifies youngster marriage as a non-bailable offense punishable by as much as seven years in jail.
The Punjab Youngster Marriage Restraint Ordinance 2026, signed into regulation on Feb. 11 by Punjab Governor Saleem Haider Khan below Article 128(1) of the Structure, replaces provisions of the Punjab Youngster Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, which had set the authorized marriage age at 18 for males and 16 for ladies. The brand new regulation removes this distinction, establishing 18 because the minimal age for each sexes.
Below the revised framework, anybody who contracts, facilitates or promotes a baby marriage faces as much as seven years’ imprisonment and fines of as much as 1 million Pakistani rupees (about $3,500). Offenses are categorized as cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, permitting police to register instances with out prior court docket approval whereas limiting the opportunity of bail or personal settlements.
The ordinance additionally imposes penalties on marriage registrars, or nikah khawans, who’re prohibited from registering marriages involving people below 18. Violations may end up in as much as one yr in jail and a tremendous of 100,000 rupees (roughly $357).
Adults who marry minors face rigorous imprisonment starting from two to 3 years, together with fines of as much as 500,000 rupees (about $1,787). The regulation additional classifies cohabitation ensuing from a baby marriage as “youngster abuse,” punishable by 5 to seven years in jail and a minimal tremendous of 1 million rupees, no matter purported consent by the minor.
The renewed consideration comes as lawmakers in Punjab take into account legislative measures geared toward addressing pressured non secular conversions.
On March 31, provincial lawmaker Falbous Christopher launched a invoice within the Punjab Meeting in search of to criminalize pressured conversions, proposing penalties of as much as 5 years’ imprisonment for these discovered responsible of coercing people to alter their faith. The draft laws distinguishes between voluntary and compelled conversions and consists of safeguards addressing coercion, threats and undue affect.
Efforts to enact such legal guidelines in Pakistan have traditionally confronted resistance. In 2021, a federal invoice geared toward stopping pressured conversions was withdrawn following opposition from non secular events and advisory our bodies, together with the Council of Islamic Ideology, which raised issues about provisions comparable to minimal age necessities and judicial oversight.
Supporters argue that stronger authorized protections are essential to safeguard weak minority teams, whereas critics warn of potential misuse and infringement on non secular freedoms.
Worldwide advocacy organizations proceed to spotlight the challenges confronted by non secular minorities in Pakistan. In its 2026 World Watch Listing, Open Doorways ranked Pakistan eighth among the many international locations the place it’s most tough to be a Christian, citing ongoing issues about discrimination, violence and compelled conversions.
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