03/05/2019 Pakistan (International Christian Concern) – According to a local Christian right organization, a Christian teenager was abducted and forcefully converted to Islam last month. The abductors are now using Pakistan’s legal system to keep the abducted Christian girl who they claim has embraced Islam.
On February 6, Sadaf Masih, age 13, of Cholistan, Wichra Bangla, Bahawalpur was abducted by Maqbool Hussain, Mubashir Hussain Baloch, and Azhir Hussain Baloch. When Sadaf’s family became aware of her abduction, they reached out to the family of the abductors who told them that Sadaf would be returned to them.
After eight days, the abductors told the Christian family that Sadaf was married and had converted to Islam. They then showed the family a marriage certificate which falsely claimed Sadaf was 18, an age old enough to get legally married in Pakistan. The abductors then threatened Sadaf’s family saying that if they tried to contact Sadaf there would be “consequences of the law”.
Abductions and forced conversions to Islam are unfortunately common for religious minorities in Pakistan. The Movement for Solidarity and Peace Pakistan estimated that nearly 1,000 women from Pakistan’s Christian and Hindu communities are abducted, raped, and forcefully converted to Islam each year.
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