Pakistan Court Upholds Marriage of 13-Year-Old Christian Girl After Alleged Forced Conversion

Maria Shahbaz’s parents with rights activist Safdar Chaudhry and lawyer Rana Abdul Hameed after federal court ruling on Feb. 3, 2026. (Facebook) | Jihad Watch

In Lahore, a recent court ruling has sparked widespread concern and condemnation after a 13-year-old Christian girl’s marriage to a Muslim man accused of abducting and forcibly converting her was upheld. The decision, delivered on March 25, has sent shockwaves through minority communities and human rights circles across the country.

The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan granted custody of Maria Shahbaz to Shehryar Ahmad, a 30-year-old man alleged to have kidnapped her and coerced her into conversion and marriage. Christian rights advocates and civil society organizations have strongly criticized the verdict, calling it a grave miscarriage of justice and a dangerous precedent for the protection of minority girls.

Maria was reportedly abducted on July 29, after which her family made repeated appeals to the authorities and courts seeking her recovery. Despite their efforts, legal interventions failed to secure her return, intensifying the family’s distress and raising questions about institutional safeguards.

In its detailed judgment issued on March 25—following an earlier short order on February 3—a two-judge bench comprising Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha ruled that Maria was of “mature age” and therefore legally in the custody of her husband. The court’s reasoning rested heavily on its interpretation of Islamic law.

The bench stated that under Sharia, Muslim men are permitted to marry women from Ahl al-Kitab (People of the Book), and it accepted Maria’s conversion to Islam as valid. According to the ruling, no elaborate rituals are necessary for conversion; a simple declaration of faith is deemed sufficient. The court relied on an affidavit attached to the marriage certificate—alleged by the family to be fabricated—as well as a certificate issued by an Islamic seminary as proof of conversion.

The judgment emphasized that embracing Islam requires only a declaration affirming belief in the oneness of Allah, the finality of Prophet Muhammad, the Holy Quran, earlier prophets, divine scriptures, and the Day of Judgment.

Addressing claims made by Maria’s father, Shahbaz Masih, that she was only 12 years old at the time of the marriage, the court dismissed the documentary evidence presented. It described inconsistencies in the initial police report and delays in official documentation—such as her birth registration and records from the National Database and Registration Authority—as grounds to question the reliability of her stated age.

The ruling has intensified ongoing debates in Pakistan over forced conversions, child marriage, and the legal protections available to religious minorities, with activists warning that such decisions may further embolden perpetrators and weaken already fragile safeguards.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)