Pakistan: Five men abduct 14-year-old Christian girl

Image: Jihad Watch

On January 9, five Muslim men abducted a 14-year-old Christian girl from outside her home in Lahore, Pakistan, according to her father. 

Sharif Masih, from the Korpur area of Sialkot, Punjab, expressed concerns that the kidnappers might try to forcibly convert his daughter, Saneha Sharif, to Islam and marry her off to one of the suspects. 

"Saneha was tricked into leaving the house by a Muslim girl who had recently moved to our neighborhood," Masih told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. "A neighbor, Rehan Razaque, witnessed her being forced into a van by the accused, including two women—one of whom was the mother of the girl who had lured Saneha out." 

Masih, who works as a sweeper at a wedding marquee and is a member of the Brethren Church, said one of the suspects, Muhammad Dildar, had been making unwelcome advances toward Saneha, which she had always rejected. He immediately reported the abduction to the police. 

"The police registered the case, but only two suspects—Samina Usman and Shabbir Ahmed—have been arrested," Masih said. "Samina is in judicial custody, while Ahmed is still in police detention, but neither has given any information that could lead to Saneha's recovery." 

Masih complained that the police had been negligent after the arrests, doing little to find his daughter. 

"Despite repeatedly asking the police for help, they have made no effort to recover Saneha or apprehend the other suspects," Masih said. "We even provided them with phone numbers to track Dildar’s location, but nothing has been done to locate him." 

He believes the lack of response is due to his poverty and Christian faith. 

"The investigating officer, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ihsan Ullah, has not made any real effort to pursue the accused," Masih said. "Saneha has been missing for nearly two weeks, and we fear the kidnappers will force her to convert to Islam and marry Dildar, giving their crime a legal facade." 

Rights advocates say that in many cases of abductions in Pakistan, girls—some as young as 10—are forcibly converted to Islam, sexually abused under the guise of Islamic "marriages," and pressured to make false statements on behalf of their abductors. Judges often disregard evidence of the victims' ages and hand them back to the kidnappers as their "legal wives."

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)