Jia Liaqat. (Photo courtesy of Albert Patras)
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A Christian family in Pakistan accused police of failing to recover their 16-year-old daughter after they said she was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married online to a Muslim in the United Arab Emirates.
Liaqat Masih of Chak No. 505/WB village in Burewala Tehsil, Vehari District, Punjab Province, said his daughter, Jia Liaqat, disappeared from the family home on April 3 while he and his wife were away for agricultural work at a Muslim landowner’s fields.
“We immediately filed a First Information Report (FIR) regarding Jia’s abduction with the Burewala Police Station the same day, but the police did not make any effort to trace her whereabouts,” Masih told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
A member of the Anglican Church of Pakistan and father of seven children, Masih said the family received a WhatsApp call on April 8 from a man identifying himself as Sohail Riaz. According to Masih, the caller claimed Jia was in his custody and warned the family against pursuing the case.
“We informed the police about the call and shared the phone number with them,” Masih said. “While the police made no serious effort to recover my daughter, we later found out that Riaz was based in Dubai, and that Jia had allegedly been taken by his sister and brother-in-law on his direction.”
Masih said Riaz had contacted Jia through social media and groomed her for sexual exploitation under the guise of marriage. Police later informed the family that she had converted to Islam and entered into an online Nikah (Islamic marriage) with Riaz on April 15, Masih said. The marriage was reportedly registered with Union Council No. 65 in Gunniyan, Kamoke Tehsil, Punjab Province.
The family subsequently filed a complaint with the regional police chief, alleging police inaction despite official documents showing Jia was a minor.
“Ostensibly angered by our complaint, the local police became more aggressive and rude toward us,” Masih said. “One day I was told the suspects had been traced to Gujrat, and that I should come there to join a police raid. I went to Gujrat and waited for hours, but my calls went unanswered. Later that evening, the police told me to come to Gujranwala, saying they had arrested two suspects, but they did not disclose who they were.”
On May 4, the family learned that Jia had appeared before a magistrate and stated that she was an adult who had converted to Islam and married Riaz of her own free will, Masih said. He said the family was neither informed of the hearing nor given an opportunity to contest her statement or present evidence regarding her age.
After Jia’s statement, the police released the two suspects they had taken into custody, and her family fears they will now move to discharge the First Information Report (FIR) regarding her abduction, Masih said.
“There’s no justice for the poor in our country, especially for those belonging to minority communities,” Masih said. “My daughter is a minor and cannot legally marry, but neither the police nor the court felt the need to verify her age. Every day we worry about what will happen to her if we cannot rescue her from the custody of her abductors.”
Police were not available for comment.
Albert Patras, a rights activist assisting the family, said the purported conversion and marriage appeared legally questionable and raised concerns about violations of the Jia’s fundamental rights.
“The government must also investigate the family’s allegations regarding police conduct, including failure to take effective steps for the recovery of the minor, intimidation of the complainant and attempts to undermine the FIR on the basis of the alleged conversion,” Patras said.
The family plans to challenge the magistrate’s proceedings in the high court, he said.
“We believe the girl’s statement was recorded under duress and in the absence of her family and legal counsel,” he said. “The magistrate should have verified her age through official documentation instead of relying solely on her verbal claim.”
Patras noted that Punjab recently raised the legal age of marriage for both boys and girls to 18 and introduced stricter penalties for child marriage. Implementation, however, remains weak, he said.
“The law will remain ineffective unless police and courts enforce it in letter and spirit,” Patras said.
Pakistan’s courts have increasingly scrutinized official birth records in cases involving alleged forced conversions and marriages of underage minority girls.
On May 6, Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) questioned the reliability of records issued by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) during proceedings involving a 15-year-old Christian girl allegedly forced to convert to Islam.
During the hearing, one judge remarked that NADRA records could not automatically be treated as conclusive proof of age because such documents could potentially be manipulated.
The court has raised similar concerns in previous cases. In a controversial Feb. 3 ruling, the FCC upheld the marriage of 13-year-old Christian girl Maria Shahbaz to a 30-year-old Muslim man, despite allegations by her family that she had been abducted and forcibly converted. In its detailed judgment issued March 25, the court questioned the reliability of NADRA and union council records, citing inconsistencies in documentation and testimony related to the girl’s age.
Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of the 50 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution.
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The post Christian Girl in Pakistan Allegedly Abducted for Online Marriage appeared first on Morningstar News.
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