A 15-year-old Christian girl, Sehar Bibi, daughter of Rahat Masih, was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam in Sadiqabad Tehsil, District Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab province of Pakistan.

Rahat Masih and his family originally belonged to Mumtazabad, Multan. Due to family difficulties, they moved to Sadiqabad around five years ago in search of a peaceful life and better work opportunities. Rahat Masih and his wife both worked in a flour factory in a nearby town to support their family. They have four children. Three of the younger children study in a government  school, while their eldest daughter, Sehar Bibi, stayed at home and looked after the household.

According to the family, one of their neighbors, Nawab Hussain, had been keeping an evil eye on Sehar for some time.

On 16 April 2026, when the younger children returned home from school, they did not find their sister at home. Frightened and worried, they immediately rushed to the flour factory and informed their parents. The family began searching for Sehar everywhere. After hours of searching, they discovered that Nawab Hussain had abducted their daughter, forcibly converted her to Islam, and claimed to have married her.

The devastated parents tried to file a police complaint, but the police refused to register the case. By that time, Nawab Hussain had already informed the police that Sehar had willingly converted to Islam and married him. The family says the police acted under pressure from local Islamic clerics and influential Muslims in the area.

Later, Sehar managed to secretly contact her parents. During the conversation, she told them that she had been forced to convert to Islam and marry Nawab Hussain against her will. She informed that she was raped by Nawab, and later he took her thumb impression on different papers. Crying and terrified, she pleaded with her parents to rescue her and take her back home.

The parents continued searching for help but found no support from local authorities. Finally, after great difficulty, they managed to contact one of our team members in Multan. After nearly three weeks of struggle, planning, and hardship, Sehar was rescued safely.

However, after her rescue, the family started receiving serious threats from local Muslim clerics and extremist elements. Because of the growing danger to their lives, the family has now been relocated to a safe city in Pakistan.

Forced Conversions and Forced Marriages of Minority Girls in Pakistan

Forced conversions and forced marriages of minority girls remain a painful reality in Pakistan, especially for Christian and Hindu families living in poor and vulnerable communities. Many young girls are abducted, pressured, threatened, or manipulated into converting to Islam and marrying Muslim men. In many cases, the victims are minors or young women from families that cannot afford legal protection or political influence.

Families often face difficulties registering police complaints because local police may come under pressure from religious groups or influential individuals. In courts, girls are frequently presented under fear and intimidation, where they are forced to state that they are converted and married willingly.

These incidents leave deep emotional scars on families. Parents lose trust in the system, children live in fear, and entire families are sometimes forced to leave their homes for safety.

Human rights organizations and activists continue raising their voices for justice and protection for minority girls. There is an urgent need for stronger laws, fair investigations, and protection for victims and their families so that no girl is forced to change her faith or marry against her will.