Breaking news from Pakistan: A federal court has commanded police to fetch a 13-year-old Christian girl, victim of abduction, forced Islam conversion, and sham marriage to a man twice her age. This intervention in Maria Shahbaz’s case signals potential accountability.
Justices Ali Baqar Najafi and Karim Khan Agha of the FCC summoned Maria and Shahryar Ahmad. Per lawyer Rana Abdul Hamid, the July 29 abduction led to immediate coercion into faith change and union.
Shahbaz Masih’s FCC petition succeeded after lower Lahore courts failed the family. Hamid exposed the minor’s rape disguised as matrimony, with police aiding the perpetrator by dismissing complaints.
Under duress, Maria testified to free will and maturity before a magistrate, contradicting birth records showing she’s underage per anti-child marriage statutes.
The father narrated the neighbor’s opportunistic grab during a routine errand, followed by futile FIR efforts amid police stonewalling.
Activists decry the epidemic: young minority girls kidnapped, Islamized, and ‘wed’ for abuse, with coerced affidavits and judicial blindness to facts.
Pakistan’s minorities battle entrenched woes—fabricated blasphemy suits, crowd attacks, assassinations, land thefts, conversions, detentions, and holy site vandalism. The court’s order is a pivotal step, yet sustained reforms are crucial to dismantle predatory cycles.