An 18-year-old Christian woman in Pakistan remains separated from her family after a court refused to allow her to return home following her alleged abduction and forced conversion to Islam, drawing renewed concern from religious freedom advocates over the treatment of Christian and Hindu minorities in the country.
According to LifeSiteNews, Neha Faqir disappeared on March 24 after being abducted from the sewing center where she worked. Her parents initially reported her missing before later learning that she had allegedly been kidnapped. They subsequently petitioned the Lahore High Court, asking that their daughter be allowed to return home.
Christian Solidarity International (CSI), which is assisting the family, described the emotional courtroom reunion as the family’s first opportunity to see Neha in more than two months.
According to CSI, “Neha’s family caught their first glimpse of her in over two months. But the girl they glimpsed was not the Neha they knew. Dressed head to foot in black robes, the 18-year-old was accompanied by a similarly dressed Muslim woman and several religious representatives.”
CSI also reported that Neha’s mother and sister repeatedly attempted to speak with her inside the courthouse but were prevented from doing so. The judge likewise did not permit any conversation between Neha and her family during the proceedings.
The court ultimately dismissed the family’s petition to have Neha returned home. While an appeal remains possible, CSI has acknowledged that the outcome is uncertain.
The organization has since brought the case before members of the international community, arguing that it reflects a much broader pattern affecting religious minorities in Pakistan.
According to LifeSiteNews, CSI’s Director for Public Advocacy, Joel Veldkamp, presented Neha’s case during a June 16 hearing at the British Parliament addressing the coercion, marriage, and religious conversion of minority women.
“In this case,” Veldkamp told lawmakers, “the miscarriage of justice is so brazen that our partners in Pakistan have asked us to bring Neha’s case to the attention of the international community.”
The parliamentary event, titled “Grooming, coerced marriage and conversion of minority women: Global incidence and evidence,” was sponsored by Lord David Alton.
Religious freedom advocates have long warned that forced conversions and marriages disproportionately affect Christian and Hindu girls in Pakistan. According to CSI, Neha’s case “fits a systematic pattern of abduction targeting women and girls from religious minority communities in Muslim-majority Pakistan.”
LifeSiteNews also cited a 2021 BBC report estimating that nearly 1,000 girls from Pakistan’s religious minority communities are abducted each year, with perpetrators rarely facing legal consequences.
For Catholics around the world, the case serves as another reminder of the ongoing challenges facing persecuted Christian communities. The Church has consistently called for the protection of human dignity, religious liberty, and the rights of every person to practice the faith freely without coercion or fear.
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