Christian Girl RETURNED to Rapist — Court IGNORED Birth Records

A Pakistani federal court just handed a 13-year-old Christian girl back to the 30-year-old Muslim man who kidnapped and raped her, ignoring official birth records and evidence of forced conversion in a ruling that exposes the deadly failures of religious minority protections abroad.

Story Snapshot

Federal Constitutional Court in Lahore awards custody of Maria Shahbaz to Shehryar Ahmad despite kidnapping, rape, and forced marriage charges
Court rejects official birth documents proving Maria’s age and dismisses findings that marriage certificate was fabricated
Police failed to arrest Ahmad despite restored criminal charges, suggesting systemic collusion protecting abductor
Case follows disturbing pattern of Christian girls abducted for forced conversion under Sharia law interpretations

Federal Court Disregards Birth Records in Custody Ruling

Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court delivered a devastating blow to religious freedom on February 3, 2026, when Justices Karim Khan Agha and Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi granted custody of 13-year-old Maria Shahbaz to her alleged abductor. The court accepted Maria’s statement claiming voluntary conversion to Islam and marriage to 30-year-old neighbor Shehryar Ahmad, despite the girl having been in his custody for six months following her July 29, 2025 abduction. The ruling explicitly rejected Maria’s official B-Form birth record—the government-issued document proving her age—in favor of testimony given just two days after her disappearance. This decision undermines the most basic protections for minors and sets a precedent that official documents mean nothing when religious conversion claims are involved.

Police Inaction Enables Continued Abuse

Ahmad kidnapped Maria while she walked to a shop near her Lahore home. Within 48 hours, she appeared before Model Town Judicial Magistrate Hassan Sarfaraz Cheema claiming voluntary conversion and marriage, prompting police to discharge the abduction report filed by her father, Shahbaz Masih. When the family fought back through sessions court, investigators discovered Ahmad’s marriage certificate was fabricated—confirmed by the union council secretary who stated no legitimate marriage record existed. A deputy superintendent even restored criminal charges against Ahmad, yet police never arrested him despite his regular court appearances. This blatant failure to enforce the law suggests a protection network shielding Ahmad, leaving a child in the hands of her rapist while authorities look the other way.

Sharia Interpretations Override Civil Protections

Maria’s case exposes a systemic crisis where Sharia law interpretations supersede civil protections for religious minorities. Pakistan’s national Christian marriage law sets the minimum age at 18, but courts apply Islamic law to converts, permitting marriages below that threshold. Punjab’s minimum marriage age stands at 16, though bills to raise it have stalled since April 2024, opposed by the Council of Islamic Ideology as un-Islamic. This legal framework creates a loophole where abductors force conversions to circumvent age-of-consent laws. Safdar Chaudhry, chairman of Raah-e-Nijaat Ministry providing legal aid to Maria’s family, warned the ruling ignores coercion risks and fabricated evidence, creating dangerous precedent. The court’s willingness to accept testimony from a traumatized child held captive for months while dismissing documentary proof demonstrates how religious bias corrupts justice.

Pattern of Targeting Christian Girls Continues Unchecked

Maria’s ordeal fits a well-documented pattern across Pakistan where Christian and Hindu girls face systematic abduction for forced conversion and sexual exploitation disguised as marriage. Recent cases include a May ruling awarding custody of Catholic girl Jessica Iqbal to her abductor despite her inability to recite the Islamic conversion creed—clear evidence of coercion—and a 16-year-old Christian girl kidnapped, trafficked, and raped before court intervention secured her rescue months later. While occasional positive outcomes occur, such as a January 2026 court order for another girl’s recovery, the overwhelming trend shows judicial and police systems failing minority families. These aren’t isolated incidents but calculated targeting of vulnerable communities, with perpetrators emboldened by legal impunity and courts that prioritize religious claims over documented evidence of crimes.

Long-Term Consequences for Religious Freedom

The Federal Constitutional Court’s decision carries implications far beyond Maria’s family. By rejecting official birth records and validated evidence of fabrication, the ruling tells every potential abductor that documentation doesn’t matter if you can coerce a statement claiming voluntary conversion. Christian families in Punjab now face the reality that their daughters can be kidnapped with minimal legal recourse, as post-abduction testimony under duress outweighs proof of age and criminal conduct. This erodes trust in Pakistan’s judiciary among religious minorities and discourages families from filing reports when they know police and courts will side with abductors. For low-income families like the Masihs—Shahbaz works as a driver—the financial burden of legal fights compounds the trauma. Unless Pakistan’s government prioritizes civil law over religious interpretations weaponized against minorities, Christian and Hindu girls remain targets in a system designed to fail them.