Christian relatives of a 13-year-old girl in Pakistan allegedly abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married to an older Muslim man fear she could be trafficked, as they continue efforts to recover her.
Maria Asif, mother of Maryam Asif Masih of Chak No. 187 EB in Vehari District, said that her daughter disappeared on April 23 after being taken by Muhammad Kashif, a 41-year-old married man and father of four children.
A domestic worker, Asif said Kashif operated a business making decorative items for livestock and had offered to train her child in the trade.
“My estranged husband, Asif Masih, works as a daily-wage laborer in Chak No. 377 EB,” she told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “Kashif offered to teach Maryam skills that could help support the family. I had no reason to suspect his intentions and agreed to send her to learn the work two months before the occurrence of this incident.”
Maria Asif returned home from work on April 23 to learn from Kashif’s wife that he had disappeared with her daughter.
“I immediately informed my husband, and he and his father, Zulfikar Masih, came to the village and filed an abduction case against Muhammad Kashif at Gaggoo Police Station,” she said.
Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on April 24, but the family alleges that the investigating officer failed to take meaningful steps to recover the child.
“Frustrated by the lack of progress, we submitted an application to the Vehari District Police Officer, who instructed local police to locate my daughter and arrest the accused,” Maria said. “After that, the police became hostile toward us. The investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Muhammad Shafique, abused and cursed me and told us that no matter what we did, we would not get our daughter back.”
On May 7, Maryam appeared before Magistrate Syed Naveed Muzaffar Hamdani in Lahore and stated that she was an adult who had converted to Islam and married Kashif of her own free will, according to court records shared by the family’s attorney.
Maria Asif disputed the validity of that statement, saying her daughter was a minor.
“Maryam’s conversion and marriage documents state that she is 19 years old, but she was born on Nov. 22, 2013,” she said. “She is only 13 years old.”
She questioned why documentary proof of age was not sought before the court accepted the girl’s statement.
“Maryam’s physical appearance also does not support the claim that she is 19 years old,” Maria said. “The magistrate should not have relied solely on her verbal statement and allowed her to leave with the accused.”
Zulfikar Masih, the girl’s paternal grandfather, said police later informed the family that there was little they could do after Maryam’s court appearance.
“Sub-Inspector Shafique categorically told us that our FIR had no value after Maryam’s statement, and that we should stop pursuing the case,” he said.
A member of an evangelical church, Zulfikar Masih said the family subsequently learned that Kashif had previously abducted other girls and sold them to traffickers.
“We were shocked when we learned about his background,” he said. “We received no notice about Maryam’s court appearance. Had we been informed, we would have challenged her claims, which we believe were made under duress.”
Contacted for comment, Sub-Inspector Muhammad Shafique of Gaggoo Police Station rejected accusations of negligence.
“The family did not submit documentary evidence establishing the girl’s age when the FIR was registered,” he said. “The allegations against me are incorrect. I conducted a raid to arrest the accused but did not find him at his residence. We only learned of the marriage after receiving the girl’s court statement.”
Shafique also denied verbally abusing or intimidating the family.
“If they are dissatisfied with my investigation, they have the option of applying for a change of investigating officer,” he said.
Maryam’s relatives say they have no information about her whereabouts and remain increasingly concerned for her safety.
“The accused’s wife recently told us that he contacted her and threatened to kill her if she shared any more information about him,” Maria said. “We are desperate to recover Maryam because she is just a child. If she is sold to a criminal network, it may become impossible to trace her and bring her back home.”
The family’s attorney, Zunaira Patrick, said delayed police action allowed the accused time to obtain conversion and marriage documents that could complicate the prosecution.
“Timely intervention could have prevented the accused from fleeing with the child,” Patrick said. “Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies often move slowly in cases involving the abduction of girls from religious minority communities.”
Patrick said she intends to seek the addition of charges related to child marriage, rape of a minor and other applicable offenses.
“My priority is to secure the child’s recovery and the arrest of the accused before any further harm comes to her,” she said. “Because the accused has formally registered the marriage, we will also file a suit for jactitation of marriage in the family court after Maryam is recovered from his unlawful custody.”
The case comes amid significant legal reforms in Punjab concerning child marriage.
On May 11, Punjab’s governor signed the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act 2026 into law after its passage by the provincial assembly. The legislation raises the minimum age of marriage to 18 for both males and females, bringing Punjab into line with Sindh, Balochistan and the Islamabad Capital Territory. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains the only province without similar legislation.
The law replaces provisions of the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, which had permitted girls to marry at 16 and boys at 18.
Lawmakers also adopted an amendment requiring the “best interests of the child” to be a primary consideration in all proceedings under the law, including investigations, bail decisions, sentencing and custody matters.
The amendment, introduced by Christian legislator Ejaz Alam Augustine and supported across party lines, further clarifies that a child involved in a marriage cannot be treated as an offender. It also states that purported consent by a minor, particularly in cases involving coercion or abduction, cannot be considered determinative in decisions relating to custody or protection.
The legislation classifies child marriage as a cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offense. Individuals who contract, facilitate or promote child marriages face penalties of up to seven years’ imprisonment and fines of up to 1 million Pakistani rupees ($3,500).
Marriage registrars are prohibited from registering marriages involving minors and may face up to one year in prison and fines of 100,000 rupees ($357) for violations.
Adults who marry minors face two to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and fines of up to 500,000 rupees ($1,787). The law also treats cohabitation arising from child marriage as child abuse, punishable by five to seven years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of 1 million rupees, regardless of purported consent.
Additional provisions criminalize child trafficking linked to marriage and impose liability on parents or guardians who facilitate or fail to prevent underage marriages. Such offenses carry penalties of two to three years’ imprisonment and fines of up to 500,000 rupees.
Cases brought under the law will be tried in Courts of Session and must be concluded within 90 days.
Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, citing forced conversions, abductions and weaknesses in legal protections among the principal challenges facing Christians in the country.
