by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
KARACHI, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – A Christian mother in Pakistan has appealed for the safe return of her 14-year-old daughter, who was allegedly abducted nearly two months ago amid concerns that she may have been forced to marry and convert to Islam.
Shamim Ashraf said in remarks shared with Worthy News that her daughter disappeared from their home on September 18, 2026. Worthy News is withholding the teenager’s name because of concerns that she may have been subjected to abuse.
LEAD Ministries, a Christian human rights organization, said police subsequently launched an investigation, with further inquiries documented on September 22. The girl was reportedly taken from Karachi to Larkana, a city in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province.
The Pakistani newspaper The News International separately reported Tuesday that former provincial legislator Saleem Khursheed Khokhar had demanded the recovery of a 14-year-old Christian girl allegedly abducted in Karachi on September 18, the same date cited by LEAD Ministries.
“I request the Christian community not to politicize this matter, but to help me. Stand by me to bring back my daughter. I am a mother and I just want my daughter to return safely,” Ashraf said in remarks shared by LEAD Ministries with Worthy News.
CHRISTIAN GIRL’S SAFETY
LEAD Ministries said the family’s lawyer had reportedly filed a constitutional petition before a High Court, although the status of the legal proceedings could not be independently confirmed.
The girl’s whereabouts and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance remained unclear Tuesday.
Sardar Mushtaq Gill, a lawyer and founder and international advocacy director of LEAD Ministries, urged Pakistani authorities to establish the teenager’s whereabouts, verify her age through official records and ensure she can speak freely before a judicial authority without intimidation.
LEAD Ministries said the girl had reportedly not yet been able to give a formal statement before a judge, where she could explain what happened without pressure or intimidation.
Gill urged authorities to investigate the alleged abduction and determine whether she had been pressured into converting to Islam or marrying against her will.
FORCED CONVERSION CONCERNS
“Our daughters are not objects to be taken, manipulated, or forced into decisions about their lives. Every girl deserves protection, dignity, education, freedom, and a childhood free from fear,” Gill said in a statement shared with Worthy News.
The family is also facing financial difficulties after Ashraf’s husband reportedly suffered a leg fracture in an accident, leaving him unable to work while the search for their daughter continues.
The case comes amid longstanding concerns about the treatment of Christian and Hindu girls in Pakistan, a Muslim-majority nation where human rights organizations have documented abductions, forced religious conversions and underage marriages.
In April 2026, United Nations human rights experts warned about forced religious conversions and marriages involving minority women and girls, urging Pakistani authorities to strengthen protections and investigate complaints.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a religious rights group, cited research by the Centre for Social Justice documenting 94 cases involving the abduction, forced conversion or forced marriage of religious minority women and girls in 2025, compared with 83 in 2024. Of the 2025 victims, 71 were Hindu and 23 Christian.
PAKISTAN MINORITY RIGHTS
The United Nations experts said about 75 percent of women and girls affected by forced conversion through marriage in 2025 were Hindu and 25 percent Christian, with nearly 80 percent of reported incidents occurring in Sindh province.
The experts warned that minority girls continued to face serious risks because their legal rights were not always upheld, particularly when authorities failed to investigate complaints or verify their ages.
They urged Pakistan to investigate such allegations impartially, verify the ages of affected girls and ensure that religious conversions and marriages are based on genuine, freely given consent.
They also raised concerns that police sometimes dismiss complaints from minority families or fail to investigate allegations promptly.
Gill called on churches, international human rights organizations and diplomatic missions to support efforts to protect the missing teenager and other vulnerable minority girls. He stressed that responsibility for preventing exploitation rests with authorities and society, not with the girls themselves.
For Ashraf’s family, the immediate concern remains the safe return of the teenager.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
