A legal advocacy organization is hailing as a positive step the recent order of a Pakistani high court to reopen a police investigation into a 13-year-old girl’s abduction, forced conversion to Islam and forced marriage to her kidnapper.
Maria Shahbaz was abducted in 2025 and forced to marry her 30-year-old captor, Alliance Defending Freedom reported. She was raised as a Christian, but was forced after being kidnapped to renounce her faith and convert to Islam. She also has been subjected to abuse and exploitation.
Read more stories on the persecuted church.
In February 2026 Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court granted custody of Maria to her captor instead of returning her to her family.
In March a district court considered the investigation closed, but Maria’s family petitioned Lahore High Court to reopen the case, ADF reported.
The petition emphasizes that evidence allegedly was withheld and her age on a forged marriage document was falsified, according to ADF.
Sad reality
Human rights groups estimate that the number of minor girls abducted in Pakistan each year and forced to convert and marry is greater than 1,000, ADF said.
Kelsey Zorzi, ADF’s director of advocacy for global religious freedom, said, “We have begun to see small steps to combat forced marriages and conversions of minority girls in Pakistan, and the court’s decision to reopen the investigation is another promising move.”
Share with others: