Pakistan Christian Advocate Demands Action Over Forced Conversions Of Minority Girls (Worthy News Investigation)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – A prominent Pakistani Christian human rights advocate has urged Pakistan’s government to investigate allegations of forced religious conversions and child marriages involving Hindu and Christian girls, warning that influential religious figures must not be allowed to operate above the law in the Islamic nation.

Lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill, founder and international advocacy director of the Christian advocacy group LEAD Ministries, said authorities should heed concerns raised by Senator Danesh Kumar about the reported abduction and forced conversion of minority girls, including minors.

Senator Kumar challenged police officials during a Senate committee meeting over their handling of such cases, including the disappearance of 14-year-old Hindu girl Bindiya Kumari, who was allegedly abducted in mid-October from the town of Sibi in southwestern Pakistan’s Balochistan province and taken to neighboring Sindh.

Participants also examined allegations against Mian Mitho, a powerful Muslim religious figure in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province. Minister of State for Religious Affairs Kesoo Mal Khael Das accused him of involvement in the abduction, forced conversion and marriage of minority girls.

Mian Mitho, whose real name is Mian Abdul Haq, has previously denied involvement in forced religious conversions, insisting they are voluntary and that coercion violates Islamic teachings.

POWERFUL RELIGIOUS FIGURES

However, the committee expressed concern about his influence, describing his activities as a “state within a state,” and questioned why authorities had failed to take effective action against him.

Police officials told the committee that a court petition had prevented them from taking action. Legal representatives challenged the document’s authenticity, prompting Kumar to demand an investigation into its origins.

Police requested seven days to report back after being directed to recover Bindiya Kumari.

Gill called for an independent investigation, insisting that religious status or political influence must not place anyone above the law.

“No individual should be above the law. Religious status, political connections, wealth or local influence must never become protection against investigation or prosecution,” Gill told Worthy News.

MINORITY GIRL’S DISAPPEARANCE

He also demanded the immediate recovery of Bindiya Kumari and called for independent safeguards to protect her from possible intimidation or coercion.

“An underage girl is a child who deserves protection, not exploitation,” Gill stressed, urging authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding her reported disappearance and religious conversion.

Pakistan has faced scrutiny over the alleged abduction, forced religious conversion and marriage of Christian and Hindu girls. The Pakistani rights group Centre for Social Justice documented 94 cases involving minority women and girls in 2025, including 71 Hindus and 23 Christians, compared with 83 cases in 2024.

Earlier estimates suggested that as many as 1,000 Christian and Hindu women and girls faced forced conversions and marriages annually, although activists say the true scale remains difficult to establish because many cases go unreported.

Christian advocacy group Open Doors ranks Pakistan eighth on its 2026 World Watch List of 50 countries where it says Christians face the most severe persecution. The organization, which estimates that about 4.8 million Christians live in Pakistan, roughly 1.9 percent of the population, warns that Christian girls as young as seven “face abduction, rape, forced marriage and conversion.”

RELIGIOUS MINORITIES AT RISK

Besides Christians, Pakistan’s 2023 census recorded about 5.2 million Hindus, including members of historically disadvantaged Hindu caste communities described as Scheduled Castes, representing roughly 2.2 percent of the population.

Open Doors also highlighted the vulnerability of Christian families living in poverty, adding that weak law enforcement and the influence of extremist groups often leave victims without adequate protection.

Separately, in an open letter shared with Worthy News, Gill urged Pakistan’s Christian leaders to overcome disagreements over proposed family law reforms aimed at protecting Christian women, children and marriages.

He called for a minimum marriage age of 18, stronger protections against domestic violence and fairer rules on divorce, child custody and inheritance.

Gill also urged lawmakers to respect Biblical principles and religious freedom while ensuring equal rights for Christian families.

CHRISTIAN FAMILY LAW REFORMS

“The absence of comprehensive, clear, and properly enacted Christian family laws could have far-reaching consequences for the entire community,” he warned.

Gill urged church leaders, politicians and human rights advocates to work together despite their religious and political differences.

He proposed bringing together Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical leaders, alongside legal experts and women’s rights advocates, to discuss reforms and find common ground on protecting Christian families.

Gill also called on international organizations and churches to press Pakistan to better protect its Christian and Hindu minorities.

“Our objective should not be to defeat one another’s positions, but to develop legislation that protects every Christian family, respects every legitimate religious tradition, safeguards individual rights, and upholds the dignity of Pakistan’s Christian community,” Gill wrote.