A kidnapped Christian girl in Pakistan reunited with her parents on Wednesday (May 21), five months after a Muslim abducted her, forcibly converted/married her and got her pregnant due to repeated sexual assault, her lawyer said.
Attorney Hanif Hameed said the 15-year-old girl was abducted from her aunt’s home by Muhammad Anees, 29, and four accomplices from Sambrial Tehsil in Sialkot District, Punjab Province on Jan. 25. Her Catholic father, Yousaf Masih, works as a laborer at a local brick kiln in Sambrial.
The girl, whose name is withheld as a rape victim, “and her younger sister had gone to their aunt’s home when she was taken by the accused,” Hameed told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “Masih initially did not know that Anees, who worked at a nearby farm, had abducted his daughter, but upon learning about his involvement, he registered an abduction case against him on Jan. 27.”
Police ignored the impoverished family’s pleas for action against the suspect and for recovery of their daughter.
“After 12 days, the police informed the Masih family that their daughter had converted to Islam and married Anees with her free will,” Hameed said. “However, when we saw the conversion and marriage certificates that had been issued from Gujrat District, we found that both documents were fabricated.”
The documents indicated she had contracted Nikah (Islamic marriage) on Jan. 17 and converted to Islam the next day – though she was at home in Sambrial with her family on those dates, Hameed said.
“This is a clear case of false conversion and fake marriage to cover the crime of abduction and rape,” he said.
After police failed to recover her, the family filed a petition in the Lahore High Court ordering police to find her and arrest the suspects, he said. Police presented her in the high court on May 6.
“Since the child was suffering from immense physical and mental trauma and was not in a position to record her statement, the court directed that the child should be moved to a government shelter for women in Sialkot District for rehabilitation,” Hameed said. “Three accused, including the primary suspect Anees, were sent to prison on judicial remand while police are making efforts to arrest their two absconding accomplices.”
The attorney said that those treating her at the shelter discovered she was four months pregnant as a result of repeated rape by Anees.
Today (May 21) the girl recorded her statement before Sambrial Magistrate Khurshid Ahmad in which she expressed her desire to be given into the custody of her parents, Hameed said.
“Accepting her request, the magistrate allowed Masih to take his daughter home, where she is now among her family members,” he said.
The lawyer said that he was preparing to charges related to rape, forced faith conversion and child marriage in the case against the suspects.
“The law must take its full course against the accused, and all those involved in the criminal acts of abducting the minor girl, sexually assaulting her and solemnizing the fake Islamic marriage must be sternly punished to make them an example for others,” he said.
Regarding the pregnancy, Hameed said he would help the family approach the high court for its direction on the matter.
“She got pregnant as a result of rape, therefore the court will have to decide the fate of her pregnancy,” he said.
Anti-Child Marriage Bill
Amid a proliferation of such cases, Pakistan’s parliament on Monday (May 19) passed a significant bill aiming to curb, discourage and eventually eradicate child marriages in the federal capital territory by raising the legal age of marriage for both sexes to 18 years.
The bill defines a child as anyone under 18 years of age, whether boy or girl, and also states that no Nikah registrar (officiant) is allowed to solemnize a marriage if either of the individuals is under 18. Registrars are also required to check and confirm the age of both parties using their Computerized National Identity Cards (CNIC), issued by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). As per the legislation, if a registrar violates this law, they can face up to one year in jail and a fine of 100,000 Pakistani Rupees ($354 USD).
The bill says that any man over 18 who marries an underage girl could face up to three years of rigorous imprisonment.
“Living with a child under 18 in a marital relationship will be considered statutory rape,” the bill states.
Moreover, the legislation also stresses that anyone who forces a child into marriage could be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to 1 million Pakistani Rupees ($3,540 USD).
“The same punishment applies to anyone involved in trafficking a child for the purpose of marriage,” it specifies.
The bill also criminalizes abettors and accomplices, stating: “Those who assist in arranging a child marriage may be sentenced to up to three years in prison and fined.”
It further states that parents or guardians who fail to stop or are involved in a child’s marriage can also face up to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine.
According to the legislation, courts will have the authority to stop a child marriage if informed in time, while the law also ensures protection for whistleblowers who wish to remain anonymous. The new law also would deny bail to the perpetrators of the crime of underage marriage and bind courts of law to complete the trial within 90 days.
A bill criminalizing child marriage also has been pending in the Punjab Assembly since April 2024. Christian activists say that the enactment of this law would help in curbing forced faith conversions and marriages of minority girls in Punjab province, which is home to over 1.5 million Christians.
Pakistan, whose population is 96-percent Muslim, ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.
