LAHORE, Pakistan — A judge’s ruling returned to Christian parents their three girls, who were illegally detained by employers and forced to say they had converted to Islam.
On Aug. 15, a Lahore High Court justice remanded to Naveed Masih and Mina Naveed their three daughters — ages 16, 13 and 9. In court, the girls said they had converted to Islam and wanted to remain with their Muslim employer families, report media outlets Christian Daily International and Morning Star News.
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However, when the judge let them talk to their parents, the girls recanted and also said their employers were abusing and brainwashing them, stated an official of Christians’ True Spirit, an advocacy group that assisted the parents in the case.
Haleema Bibi, a Muslim woman, placed the girls as domestic workers in Pakistan’s Punjab province in September 2023 because their impoverished family needed additional income.
But when the parents requested their daughters’ return, Bibi refused, the news services state. Bibi also said one employer wanted a $1,077 (300,000 rupees) “security deposit” for the return of the oldest girl.
Although the judge returned the girls to their parents, he took no action against Bibi and the Muslim employers, the media outlets report.
Pakistan is No. 7 on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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