In Pakistan, a court refused to return a daughter kidnapped by Muslims to her Christian parents

The Lahore High Court building in Pakistan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

On July 15, 2026, a court in Pakistan refused to return an 18-year-old Christian girl, who had been kidnapped and converted to Islam, to her parents, reports LifeSiteNews.

The girl was kidnapped on March 24 from a sewing workshop where she worked. Her parents reported her disappearance and then appealed to the court with a request to allow their daughter to return home.

At the hearing, the family saw the girl for the first time in more than two months. She was dressed in Muslim clothing and was accompanied by a Muslim woman and several religious figures. The mother and sister were not allowed to speak with her.

The court rejected the parents' request for their daughter's return. The family may appeal this decision, but the outcome of further proceedings remains unknown.

Human rights advocates note that in Pakistan, girls from Christian and Hindu families are regularly kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off to Muslim men. According to BBC data from 2021, around one thousand girls from religious minorities fall victim to such crimes every year.

The Union of Orthodox Journalists previously reported that a court in Pakistan ruled the marriage of a kidnapped 13-year-old Christian girl to be lawful.
 

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