Christian Father in Pakistan Battles for Custody of 13-Year-Old Daughter
September 03, 2025
A Christian father in Lahore is fighting to reclaim his 13-year-old daughter, who was abducted, forcibly converted, and married to her captor under the guise of Islamic law. Rights advocates warn that weak enforcement of child marriage laws continues to leave vulnerable girls at risk in Pakistan.
Lahore, Pakistan, A Christian father in Lahore is fighting a legal battle to recover his 13-year-old daughter, who was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to her abductor, according to family and ministry sources.
On July 29, Maria Shahbaz was taken from outside her home in the Sattukatla area by 30-year-old Shehryar Ahmad, a Muslim man from the same neighborhood. Her father, Shahbaz Masih, filed a report with the Nawab Town Police Station when she did not return home.
Two days later, on July 31, police informed Masih that Maria had appeared before a magistrate and declared she had willingly converted to Islam and married Ahmad. The court accepted her claim that she was 18 years old, despite her obvious minority.
Masih, a driver and father of five, rejected the court’s ruling, insisting his daughter was pressured into making the statement. “She is just a child. I cannot believe the magistrate ignored her real age and accepted this false claim,” he said.
Human rights advocates note that Maria’s case follows a disturbing pattern in Pakistan, where underage Christian and Hindu girls are abducted, forced to convert to Islam, married to their captors, and coerced into recording statements in court. Judges often disregard official documents verifying the victims’ ages and return them to their abductors as “legal wives.”
Maria had left school during the COVID-19 pandemic and worked alongside her mother as a domestic helper to support the family.
Safdar Chaudhry of Raah-e-Nijaat Ministry, which is supporting the family, said their legal team filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court, but it was dismissed. The judge advised them to challenge Maria’s statement in the sessions court instead.
On September 3, the sessions court admitted the case. Masih said his legal team will present documentary proof that Maria is a minor and that the so-called marriage violates the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, which prohibits marriage under the age of 16.
“We will also request criminal proceedings against Ahmad and those who facilitated this sham marriage,” Masih stated.
Christian Persecution Relief Pakistan organization urges Pakistan and Punjab government and police to enforce child marriage laws, stressing that weak enforcement enables the exploitation of minor girls under the guise of religious conversion and marriage.
In May, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari signed a landmark law raising the minimum marriage age for both boys and girls to 18 in the Islamabad Capital Territory. The bill faced strong opposition from Islamist groups, including the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), which argued that banning marriage under 18 conflicted with Islamic law.
A similar bill, which would extend the minimum marriage age to 18 in Punjab Province, has been pending in the assembly since April 2024. Nationally, the Christian Marriage (Amendment) Act 2024 sets the minimum age at 18 for Christians but girls who convert to Islam fall under Islamic law, which allows marriage at younger ages.
Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country where Christians make up less than 1.27% of the population, ranks eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to live as a Christian.
For Shahbaz Masih, the battle is deeply personal: “I just want my daughter back. She is a child, and she belongs at home with her family.”