Five months after Muslims accused her, she reunited with her parents on Wednesday (May 21), forcing her to be converted/married, and repeatedly sexually assaulted her to get pregnant, her lawyer said.
Attorney Hanif Hamed said the 15-year-old girl was accused of her aunt’s home on January 25 by Muhammad Annie of Sialkot district, Punjab, and four accomplices.
The girl, named as the victim of rape, said, “and her sister went to her aunt’s house when she was taken by the accused,” Hamed told Christian Daily International Morning Star News. “Masi didn’t initially know that Annie, who worked at a nearby farm, had acquiring his daughter, but when he learned about his involvement, he registered an acquiring case against him on January 27th.”
Police ignored the pleas of poor families to act against the suspect and to recover from his daughter.
“Twelve days later, police told the Masi family that their daughter had converted to Islam and at her free will she married Annie,” Hamed said. “However, when I saw the conversion and marriage certificate issued from the Gujrat district, I found out that both documents were being produced.”
The documents show that she signed a contract with Nika (Islamic marriage) on January 17th and converted to Islam the following day.
“This is a clear case of false conversion and fake marriage to cover the crimes of abortion and rape,” he said.
After police did not retrieve her, the family filed a petition at Lahore High Court asking police to find her and arrest the suspect, he said. Police presented her at the High Court on May 6th.
“The child suffered from physical and mental trauma and was not in a position to record her statement, so the court instructed that the child should be moved to a government shelter for women in Sialkot district for rehabilitation,” Hamed said. “Three defendants, including the main suspect Annie, were sent to prison for judicial remands while police made efforts to arrest two genocide accomplices.”
The lawyer said those treating her at the shelter discovered she was four months pregnant as a result of repeated rapes by Annie.
Today (May 21), the girl recorded her statement and at Samburi Magistrate Kurshid Ahmad, Hamed said she expressed her desire to be given custody of her parents.
“Accepting her request, the magistrate allowed Masi to take his daughter home.
The lawyer said in the lawsuit against the suspect he was preparing charges related to rape, forced faith conversion and child marriage.
“The law must obtain a full course against the accused, and all those involved in the criminal act of accusing minor girls, sexually assaulting and strictly stolen false Islamic marriages must be punished severely to serve as a role model for others,” he said.
Regarding pregnancy, Hamed said it would help families approach the High Court in that direction on the matter.
“The court must determine the fate of the pregnancy because she became pregnant as a result of rape,” he said.
Anti-Child Marriage Law
Amidst the spread of such cases, Pakistan’s parliament passed an important bill on Monday (May 19) aimed at suppressing and ultimately eradicating the marriage of children in the federal capital territory by raising the legal age of men and women to 18 years.
The bill defines children as people under the age of 18, whether boy or girl, and states that if any of the individuals are under the age of 18, the Nika Registra (facilitator) is not permitted to strictly marry. According to the law, if the registrar violates this law, they can face a prison for up to one year and a fine of 100,000 Pakistani Rupees (USD 354).
The bill says men over the age of 18 who marry a minor girl could face tough imprisonment for up to three years.
“Living with a child under the age of 18 in a marital relationship is considered statutory rape,” the bill states.
Furthermore, the law emphasizes that anyone who enforces a child can be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to 1 million Pakistani rupee (USD 3,540).
“The same punishment applies to those involved in child trafficking for the purposes of marriage.”
The bill also criminalized Abetta and his accomplices, saying, “People who support arranging child marriages could be sentenced to up to three years in prison and could be fined.”
It also states that parents or guardians who do not stop at marriage with or are involved in marriage with children may also face severe prison terms and fines of up to three years.
According to the law, courts have the power to stop child marriages if notified in time, and the law also guarantees protection for whistleblowers who wish to remain anonymous. The new law will also deny bail to the perpetrator of a minor marriage crime and will detain the court to complete the trial within 90 days.
The bill criminalizing child marriage has been pending in Punjab Parliament since April 2024. Christian activists say the enactment of the law will help to curb forced faith conversion and marriage for minority girls in Punjab, home to more than 1.5 million Christians.
Pakistan, a Muslim with a population of 96%, ranked 8th on the 2025 World Watchlist, the hardest place to become a Christian.
