A court in Pakistan has sentenced a Muslim man to life in prison for the abduction and rape of a young Christian girl, but failed to address the victim’s forced conversion to Islam and a falsified marriage, according to her lawyer.
On 9 July, the District and Sessions Court in Toba Tek Singh convicted Ahmed Raza of abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl in September 2023. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and given an additional 10-year sentence, to be served at the same time. The court also fined him and ordered compensation for the victim’s emotional and psychological suffering.
Christian lawyer Hanif Hameed said Raza and three accomplices kidnapped the girl at gunpoint as she returned home. She was held for a month and repeatedly abused. The men also produced a fake Islamic marriage certificate, dated before the abduction, in an attempt to legitimise their actions.
Police rescued the girl on 29 October 2023 and arrested Raza. The other suspects remain at large. Following her recovery, Hameed filed criminal charges and a separate case in family court to annul the fake marriage. That court ruled in the girl's favour in July 2024, confirming she had been forcibly converted and that the marriage was invalid.
Despite these findings, the trial judge did not include charges of forced conversion or fraud in his verdict. Hameed expressed concern over the omission, noting that the victim had named all four attackers and clearly described a gang rape. However, only Raza was convicted, and the judge dismissed the gang rape charge.
The lawyer also criticised the court for ignoring the forged marriage certificate. “There was no official record of the marriage, and the registrar denied the signature was his,” Hameed said.
While disappointed with the limited scope of the ruling, Hameed said the conviction is still an important victory in the wider struggle against sexual abuse, forced religious conversion, and sham marriages involving minority girls in Pakistan.
He praised the courage of the victim’s father, Razzaq Masih, who pursued justice despite fear and social pressure. “Most Christian families are too afraid or too poor to take legal action. This case should inspire others to speak out,” he said.
A recent report by the Centre for Social Justice found that at least 421 girls from religious minorities were victims of forced conversion and marriage between 2021 and 2024. Of those, 137 were Christian. Most victims were minors, some as young as 12. The report noted that the majority of these cases took place in Sindh and Punjab provinces.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee also raised serious concerns in 2024, urging Pakistan to protect religious minority girls from forced conversion and underage marriage. It called for a national minimum marriage age of 18 and stronger legal protections.
Pakistan, where over 96 percent of the population is Muslim, remains one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. The country ranks eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List.
Adapted from reporting by Christian Daily International – Morning Star News.
