Eleven U.S. Congress members contacted a Pakistani government official to seek protection for a young, kidnapped Christian woman.
The group’s Aug. 20 letter is in regard to Neha Faqir, age 18, whose family says she was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam. She had left her home in Kot Radha Kishan in Pakistan’s Punjab province on March 24 for training at a sewing center. She did not return. An attorney for Christian Solidarity International, which is aiding her family, said Faqir was later found at an Islamic seminary and had converted to Islam, reports Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
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The sewing center operators — an Islamic cleric and his two wives — were named in a police report as the perpetrators, CSI told the news outlet.
Seeking Fariq’s recovery, her family petitioned Lahore High Court, but the request was dismissed June 9. CSI told Christian Daily-Morning Star that Fariq appeared in court with Muslim clerics. Her family was denied access to her.
The U.S. congressional members’ letter calls on Azam Nazeer Tarar, Pakistan’s minister of law and justice, to ensure that Fariq is safe, receives independent and confidential legal counsel, has the freedom to speak without intimidation in judicial proceedings in her case and is allowed to meet privately with her family.
Pakistan is No. 8 on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of the 50 places most difficult to be a Christian.
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