A 13-year-old Pakistani Christian girl was abducted from Lahore, Punjab, on 5 January, forcibly converted to Islam and married to her abductor.
Saba Shafique left her home in Walton Model Colony, Lahore to buy milk at 7am that morning but did not return.
The abductor has been identified as Muhammad Ali, 35, also from Walton Model Colony and known to Saba’s family.
Saba has been missing since her abduction on 5 January [Image credit: Pak Christian News]
Ali, who is already married, kidnapped Saba and took her to Nawabshah in Sindh, more than 580 miles to the south-west.
Shafiq Masih, Saba’s father, said that “witness accounts and CCTV footage confirm [Ali’s] involvement in my daughter’s abduction”.
The family subsequently received an “Islam acceptance certificate” to confirm her allegedly voluntary conversion, as well as a marriage certificate that falsely declares Saba to be over 18 years old and of an age to be legally married.
“My daughter is just a child – who has no understanding of life’s complexities,” said Shafiq, calling on the authorities to take action to secure Saba’s return.
Malik Irfan Awan, the family’s lawyer, confirmed that Saba’s status as a minor was beyond doubt and easily confirmed by her birth records. “A child at this age cannot make an independent decision about marriage or religion,” he explained.
Human rights spokesman Azhar S. Malik condemned Saba’s abduction and expressed concern over the increase in cases of abduction of underage Christian girls in Pakistan. "I am deeply concerned that young Christian girls are being systematically targeted, abducted, and taken away – often to different provinces – where their families have no access to them,” he said.
Pray that the truth about Saba’s forced conversion and marriage will be exposed and that she will be returned to her family safely. Pray also that the Pakistani authorities will be more proactive in combating the practice of Muslim men abducting Christian girls, and girls from other minority communities.
