![\"Faisal](\"https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Faisal-Mosque-in-Islamabad-Pakistan.-Alimrankdev-Creative-Commons.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFaisal Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Alimrankdev, Creative Commons)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
LAHORE<\/strong>, Pakistan<\/strong>\u00a0(Christian Daily International<\/a>\u2013<\/em>Morning Star News<\/a>) \u2013 Two months after a Muslim told a Christian in Pakistan he could not stop him from taking the Christian\u2019s 13-year-old daughter for marriage to his 28-year-old Muslim son, the girl was kidnapped on March 13, her father said.<\/p>\n Shakeel Masih said his daughter, Roshni Shakeel, had spurned the advances of Muazzam Mazhar before the young Muslim man kidnapped her from her home in Basti Khaliq Pura in Multan District, Punjab Province.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Masih said that Muazzam Mazhar\u2019s father, Mazhar Abbas, called him from Saudi Arabia where is working two months ago and demanded Roshni\u2019s hand in marriage for his unemployed son.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have a beautiful daughter, and it would be better for you to give her to my son yourself \u2013 there\u2019s nothing you \u2018Chuhras<\/em>\u2019 can do to stop us from taking her,\u201d Abbas told Masih, the 33-year-old Christian father said. Chuhra<\/em> is a pejorative term used for Christians in Muslim-majority Pakistan.<\/p>\n Masih said he flatly rejected Abbas\u2019s demand, telling him that under no circumstances would he agree to marry his daughter into a Muslim family even if she were of marriageable age.<\/p>\n \u201cI stopped taking Abbas\u2019s phone calls after that, and this offended him to the extent that he encouraged his son to abduct Roshni and forcibly marry her,\u201d Masih told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.<\/p>\n Two days after Roshni\u2019s abduction, local Muslim Bilal Hatim told Masih that he should give up hope of finding his daughter because she had converted to Islam and married Muazzam Mazhar, Masih said.<\/p>\n \u201cOn March 15, Bilal Hatim told me that he had information that Roshni had converted and married Mazhar of her own will,\u201d Masih told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. \u201cHe said that instead of wasting money to find her, I should consider reaching a settlement with the accused\u2019s family to protect my honor. I turned down his offer, saying that I wanted my daughter back at all costs even if it meant putting my honor at stake. Roshni\u2019s just a child, and I love her with all my heart. How can I forsake my own flesh and blood?\u201d<\/p>\n After Masih went to police who refused to take action, he filed a petition in the Multan Bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday (March 18) for Roshni\u2019s recovery, expressing fear for her life. Only then did he learn that his daughter had appeared at sessions court that day and recorded a statement, apparently under severe coercion as typically happens in such cases, in favor of the suspect.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were only verbally informed by the police about Roshni\u2019s statement in court,\u201d Masih said. \u201cTo date, I have not formally received any document regarding her conversion and marriage. I only know that they have shown her to be 18 years old in the marriage certificate that was allegedly documented on March 11, two days before she was taken.\u201d<\/p>\n The Christian said Abbas, who lives in Saudi Arabia with his second wife while his two sons from his first marriage live with their aunt in Pakistan, orchestrated his daughter\u2019s kidnapping.<\/p>\n \u201cThe accused used to force my daughter to befriend him, but she turned down his offers and brought the matter to my notice,\u201d Masih said. \u201cI complained about his lecherous behavior several times, but instead of stopping him, his family encouraged him to continue with his evil actions.\u201d<\/p>\n The impoverished Masih, who works as a cleaner at a restaurant, said Roshni had stopped going to school after grade seven because she did not like to recite quranic verses taught in the government-run institution.<\/p>\n \u201cRoshni did not feel comfortable in that school because of the overtly Islamic education imparted there,\u201d he said. \u201cDespite my meager resources, I was determined to educate my children and told her that she should continue her studies at home. I will never believe that a girl who did not like quranic studies has suddenly grown so interested in that faith that she converted. Her conversion and marriage are just a cover for sexual abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Poor Access to Justice\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Highlighting the systemic challenges faced by vulnerable Christians in seeking justice in Pakistan, Masih said police worked hand in glove with criminals.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Sital Mari police have shown prejudice from the onset of the case,\u201d he said. \u201cI informed them within minutes of Roshni\u2019s abduction, yet no action was taken for hours. We pleaded with them to stop the abductors from leaving the city, but they simply refused to budge.\u201d<\/p>\n A member of a local Brethren church, Masih said repeated visits to the police station the following day also failed to prompt any action.<\/p>\n \u201cOur pleas fell on deaf ears,\u201d Masih said. \u201cIt was as if the police deliberately delayed action to give advantage to the abductors. Their connivance in the crime became more evident when, after our hue and cry, they arrested the brother of the accused but released him soon after.\u201d<\/p>\n In a desperate quest for justice, Masih sold household items, including mobile phones and his brother\u2019s motorcycle, to fund efforts to find his daughter.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m determined to bring my daughter back no matter what happens,\u201d he said. \u201cThe high court will take up my petition on March 25, and I\u2019m hoping that the judge will allow us a meeting with our daughter. We haven\u2019t seen her since the time she was taken, and my wife and I are certain that she will be encouraged to change her statement when she\u2019s not under the influence of the accused and the police.\u201d<\/p>\n Human rights activist Joseph Jansen said police and other authorities in Pakistan facilitate crime instead of protecting minor victims from forcible conversion to Islam.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is particularly distressing to note the involvement of religious authorities, as well as the complicity of\u00a0police\u00a0and the justice system in facilitating these atrocities,\u201d Jansen told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. \u201cSuch actions blatantly disregard national and international human rights laws, which unequivocally prohibit such coercive practices.\u201d<\/p>\n Jansen said that despite the legal framework provided by the Child Marriage Restraint Act,\u00a0officials\u00a0with Islamic mindsets lack\u00a0the will to enforce such laws.<\/p>\n \u201cThis reluctance has emboldened perpetrators to continue their heinous crimes under the guise of Islamic marriage and conversion,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cWithout legislation specifically addressing forced faith conversions and adequate enforcement of\u00a0the\u00a0existing domestic laws, these harmful practices\u00a0will\u00a0persist.\u201d<\/p>\n Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors\u2019 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.<\/p>\n If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/resources\/aid-agencies\/<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/donate\/<\/em><\/a>?<\/em><\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n \u00a9 2024 Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. Articles\/photos may be reprinted with credit to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/morningstarnews.org<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Tweet:\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/twitter.com\/morningstarnewz\/<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Facebook:\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MorningStarNews<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News\u2019 mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone. For free subscription, contact\u00a0<\/em>editor@morningstarnews.org<\/em><\/a>;\u00a0to make tax-deductible donations, visit\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/donate\/<\/em><\/a>? or send check to Morning Star News, 728 A Kodiak St., Eielson AFB, AK 99702, USA.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Muslim \u2018Suitor\u2019 Kidnaps 13-Year-Old Christian Girl in Pakistan<\/a> appeared first on Morningstar News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n