A Muslim abducted and raped a 14-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan this month, according to her brother, who believes the assault was an act of revenge over a prior dispute.
Sahil George, a 21-year-old member of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Sahiwal, Punjab Province, said his sister left their home briefly on Dec. 7 to buy bread from a nearby shop when Muslim neighbors stopped her.
“She was approached on the street by Muhammad Bilal Arshad and Muhammad Zohaib, who forced her at gunpoint to sit on their motorcycle and took her to a house,” George told Christian Daily International–Morning Star News. “They locked her in a room, where Zohaib raped her.”
The family became alarmed when the child did not return home for an extended period and began searching nearby streets, he said.
“During the search, two residents informed us that a girl had been thrown outside a house by motorcycle riders and appeared to be in a semi-unconscious condition,” George said. “When we rushed there, we saw that it was my sister.”
The family immediately contacted police, who arrived and transported her to a hospital. Medical examination later confirmed that she had been raped, George said.
Police initially arrested Arshad, Zohaib, and another person identified as Shamil Arshad, George said. Bilal Arshad and Shamil Arshad were later released after Zohaib claimed sole responsibility for the crime, he said.
George’s father, George Masih, died about 15 years ago, leaving him as the primary breadwinner for his widowed mother, Nasreen Bibi, and his two sisters. A workers at a wedding decoration items shop, George said the attack followed a dispute he had with Bilal Arshad several months earlier during a cock-fighting event.
“My friends and I had a fight with Bilal and his group after they refused to give us the cash prize and trophy that we had won in what we believe was a fair competition,” he said. “We eventually took the money and the trophy, and because of that they held a grudge against me.”
He added that Zohaib and Arshad had confronted his sister on the street days before the incident and warned her that they would take revenge for what they considered their humiliation.
“Some people are trying to pressure me to reach a settlement with the accused,” George said. “But how can I compromise on my sister’s honor and her life? If they wanted revenge, they should have taken it from me. Instead, they targeted my younger sister, scarring her for life and causing our family immense mental and emotional suffering.”
Human rights activists say women and girls from religious minority communities in Pakistan such as Christians and Hindus face heightened risks of sexual violence.
“Minority women in Pakistan are at greater risk of sexual violence and other forms of abuse compared to the general female population,” said Albert Patras, a human rights activist who works with female survivors of violence in South Punjab. “This vulnerability stems from overlapping discrimination based on gender, religion, socio-economic status and caste.”
Despite constitutional guarantees of equality, minority women often face systemic neglect and exclusion from legal protections and social services, Patras said.
“In many cases, perpetrators of crimes against minority women escape accountability,” he said. “In this case, one of the primary accused, Bilal, has reportedly been released based on Zohaib’s confession, even though the child herself has clearly identified Bilal as being involved in her abduction.”
He called on authorities to investigate the case thoroughly in light of the victim’s statement and to ensure that all those involved are held accountable under the law.
“The police must ensure justice without discrimination or pressure,” Patras said.
Pakistan, whose population is more than 96 percent Muslim, ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution.
