LAHORE, Pakistan — Parents of a 16-year-old Pakistani girl say their Christian daughter was abducted, forced to convert to Islam and marry, and police have delayed trying to find her.
Diya Iftikhar was taken from home Sept. 12 in the village Chak No. 126-GB Sheroana in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Her mother, Shahida Iftikhar, told media sources Christian Daily International and Morning Star News that three “notorious” criminals took Diya away in a van.
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Later, the parents received a video in which Diya said she converted to Islam and married the main kidnapper.
Shahida said she knows Diya was coerced to say that she converted and married of her own free will because before the abduction, Diya “detested” the main kidnapper.
When her parents reported the abduction they found police to be uncooperative, Shahida told the news outlets.
Iftikhar Joseph, the girl’s father, said he and his wife want to pursue the case through the court system but don’t have the money to do so.
With the assailants roaming free, Joseph said he fears for his other four daughters and for all Christian girls in their village.
Pakistan is No. 7 on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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