On January 5, a 35-year-old Muslim man kidnapped a 12-year-old Christian girl in the Walton Model Colony No. 2 neighborhood of Lahore Cantonment, Punjab Province, Pakistan. The girl’s abductor was the neighbor of the Christian family. He lured the girl to accompany him to the market, and then he forced the child to get on a bus, which took them to another city.

When they arrived at Sialkot city, the abductor, with the help of a cleric, prepared false documents of her conversion to Islam and a statement of their marriage, which documents stated the girl’s age as 18. Then in fear of arrest, he moved the girl and himself to Shaheed Benazirabad city. Trying to protect himself, he made the young girl give false statements.

“Ali then forced me to record a video saying that I had converted to Islam and married him of my free will. I was also forced to state that I’m 18 years old, and that my parents should not take any action against us.”

After the abduction of his daughter, her father filed a complaint with the police, and with the help of a Christian paralegal organization, HARDS Pakistan, her daughter was freed.

“During the time I was there, Ali did bad things with me which numbed my mind and body. He also beat me whenever I used to cry for my parents and told him that I wanted to go back home. I was kept locked in a room most of the time.”

Described the kidnapped girl and her two months of captivity. Even though the perpetrator was arrested and charged with abduction, HARDS Pakistan is working on extending the charges with rape, child marriage, and other crimes as well. The mother of the Catholic girl said she never thought that their neighbor had such vile intents with their child.

Sadly, this is not a separate incident. Many young girls belonging to religious minorities are victims of kidnapping, forced conversion, and child marriages. In 2023, 136 girls, belonging to Hindu and Christian minorities, were victims of such crimes, many of them under the age of 18, Sindh and Punjab being the two provinces affected.

Source: Christian Daily-Morning Star News

Photo: Jarek Jarosz