Pakistan’s judicial system faces scrutiny after a federal court in Islamabad mandated police action to recover a 13-year-old Christian girl kidnapped and forced into a Muslim marriage. The shocking ordeal of Maria Shahbaz has ignited debates on minority rights and child protection.
A two-judge bench of the Federal Constitutional Court ordered the production of Maria and 30-year-old Shahryar Ahmad. Advocate Rana Abdul Hamid revealed the abduction occurred on July 29 last year, followed by coerced conversion and nuptials.
After Lahore’s sessions and high courts rejected recovery petitions, Maria’s father Shahbaz Masih turned to the FCC, whose petition was admitted. Hamid argued the minor was enduring sexual assault masked as religious union.
Lahore police’s alleged complicity allowed a magistrate to dismiss the FIR. The girl was coerced into affirming voluntary actions, falsely claiming adulthood despite documents confirming her minor status under laws banning girls’ marriages below 16.
Masih described the neighbor’s brazen abduction near their home, leading to an FIR at Nawab Town station. Yet, police referenced her coerced statement to a magistrate.
Reports from rights groups detail a pervasive pattern: pre-teen Christian and Hindu girls abducted, converted forcibly, and wed to older men for exploitation. Courts frequently overlook evidence, prioritizing abductors.
Amid institutional biases, minorities grapple with blasphemy traps, violent mobs, murders, property seizures, conversions, and desecrations. This directive offers hope but highlights systemic failures demanding comprehensive safeguards for at-risk youth.
