Islamabad, April 19 (IANS) Police in Pakistan have refused to recover a 15-year-old Christian girl, who was kidnapped at gunpoint, forcibly converted to Islam and married to the kidnapper, according to her father, a report said.

Afzal Javed Masih of Chak No. 648-GB village in Jaranwala city of Pakistan’s Punjab province said that his daughter, Sidra Bibi, was abducted from their home by a Muslim, Ali Murtaza, and his two accomplices on March 27.

He added that the men entered the house by climbing the wall at around 3 a.m. and abducted Sidra at gunpoint, Christian Daily International reported.

Masih, who collects scrap in Sialkot, to earn livelihood, said that his family members informed him about the kidnapping of his daughter.

Speaking to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, Masih said, “I immediately returned to the village and registered a First Information Report (FIR) the same day, hoping for my daughter’s safe recovery.”

Afzal Javed Masih said police lodged the case, however, they inaccurately mentioned Sidra Bibi’s age as 17-years-old instead of 15 which is stated on her official birth certificate.

He added, “I am illiterate and only learned of this discrepancy later, when a rights activist pointed it out.”

He said that police initially arrested relatives of the suspect, however, they later released after documents surfaced claiming that Sidra Bibi had converted to Islam and willingly married Murtaza Ali in Rahim Yar Khan district in Punjab.

He rejected the authenticity of the document, which included an affidavit allegedly signed by his daughter, where she mentioned that she was an adult and converted to Islam after seeing religious content on social media.

He termed the claim “absurd” and said, “My daughter has never attended school, and our family does not own a smartphone due to our financial condition.”

He alleged that Murtaza Ali had harassed the family previously.

He said that police had not taken any meaningful action despite his complaint, adding: “Had they acted then, this incident might have been prevented.”

He mentioned that the investigation was stopped, leaving the family with little hope to find their daughter.

Masih said that his family is the only Christian household in the village, sparking concerns about vulnerability due to their minority status, Christian Daily International reported.

Meanwhile, Lazar Allah Rakha, a senior Christian lawyer who has represented victims in similar cases, said police should have pursued the case under the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Ordinance 2026, irrespective of discrepancies in the FIR.

Speaking to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, he said, Rakha said, “Even if the girl’s age is incorrectly stated as 17, the law prohibits marriage under 18.”

He added, “Police should also have invoked additional charges, including those related to statutory rape and abduction.”

He also mentioned discrepancies in the Islamic marriage certificate, including the absence of Sidra’s national identity card number, which is required under law.

–IANS

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