A minor Christian girl from Lahore has allegedly been abducted and forced into marriage and religious conversion, raising fresh concerns over the safety and protection of vulnerable minority girls in Pakistan.
According to our local partner organization, 14-year-old Rida went missing from the Essa Abad area of Mughal Pura, Lahore, on April 27, 2026. Her family alleges that she was abducted by a man identified as Muhammad Saqib, who had reportedly travelled from Bahawalnagar to visit relatives in the area.
Rida belongs to an impoverished Christian family. Her father, Danish Barkat, and mother, Sobia Munir, work low-income jobs in an effort to support their five children. Due to extreme financial hardship, the family has struggled to provide basic necessities, including regular education for the children.
According to the family, Rida had gone out to buy food for her younger siblings while her grandparents were temporarily away from home. She reportedly never returned. Following her disappearance, a missing person complaint was registered at Mughal Pura Police Station under Section 365-B of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Police later traced the case to Arifwala, where the alleged abductor reportedly presented Rida before a magistrate, claiming that she had converted to Islam and married him. However, due to concerns regarding her age, the court ordered that she be placed in Dar-ul-Aman, a government shelter home, instead of returning her to her parents.
Human rights advocates say such incidents involving underage Christian and Hindu girls continue to highlight serious concerns regarding alleged forced conversions, child marriages, and the lack of effective protection for religious minorities in Pakistan.
