Washington, September 19, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Minority girls in Pakistan continue to face allegations of abduction, forced religious conversion, child marriage and sexual violence, according to the recently released Stolen Girls report by human rights organisations Voice for Justice and Jubilee Campaign.
The report, presented at the European Parliament in July, documents 210 cases involving Christian girls between 2019 and 2025. It found that more than 83 per cent of the victims were below 18 years of age, with an average victim age of 12.8 years. The report also identified a significant age gap between victims and alleged perpetrators.
According to the findings cited by Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut in PJ Media, 134 victims were between 14 and 17 years old, 41 were younger than 14, while 35 were adults. The report also highlights allegations of fraudulent documentation, manipulation of legal processes and institutional failures that can allow perpetrators to evade accountability.
One case highlighted in the report is that of Amber Nadeem, a 13-year-old Christian girl from Faisalabad who was allegedly abducted by Mohsin Liaquat on June 12, 2026.
According to human rights organisations, Amber later told a Judicial Magistrate that members of the accused’s family had pressured and coached her to claim that she was an adult, had converted to Islam voluntarily and had married of her own free will. The court subsequently ordered an age assessment and placed her in a government shelter.
A Faisalabad sessions court later granted custody of Amber to the man accused of abducting her and also granted him bail, according to the rights organisations. Pakistani media have also reported concerns over conflicting age documents presented in the case.
Joseph Janssen, chairman of Voice for Justice, said the case highlighted concerns over the protection of minority girls from abduction, forced conversion and child marriage.
“Christian and Hindu girls in Pakistan continue to be abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married to their abductors, in some cases, with police and the judiciary failing to protect victims and facilitating the process,” Janssen was quoted as saying.
He urged the European Union and the US government to adopt what he described as a zero-tolerance approach towards abduction, forced religious conversion and child marriage involving minority girls.
Janssen also called for measurable action, accountability and effective enforcement by Pakistani authorities, arguing that such cases should not be treated solely as individual criminal incidents or domestic matters.
The Stolen Girls study says its findings point to recurring patterns involving abduction, forced conversion and child marriage, with legal and documentary practices cited among the factors that can make it difficult for victims to obtain protection and return to their families.
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