Court Hands Kidnapped Girl Back to RAPIST

Gavel being struck near scales of justice.

A Pakistani federal court has awarded custody of a 13-year-old Christian girl to her 30-year-old Muslim kidnapper who allegedly raped her and forced her into marriage, disregarding official birth records and evidence of fabricated documents in a ruling that exposes the deadly collision between Sharia law and the rights of religious minorities.

Story Snapshot

Federal Constitutional Court grants custody of Maria Shahbaz to Shehryar Ahmad despite official birth documents proving she is 13 years old
Court accepts alleged coerced testimony while ignoring evidence that marriage certificate was fabricated and police investigation findings
Police failed to arrest Ahmad despite restored criminal charges, suggesting possible collusion or protection for the abductor
Case represents pattern of Christian and Hindu girls abducted for forced conversion in Pakistan, with courts prioritizing Sharia interpretations over civil law protections

Court Rejects Birth Records in Favor of Alleged Coerced Testimony

On February 3, 2026, Justices Karim Khan Agha and Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi of Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court in Lahore ruled that 30-year-old Shehryar Ahmad should retain custody of his 13-year-old Christian neighbor Maria Shahbaz. The court accepted Maria’s statement claiming voluntary conversion to Islam and marriage to Ahmad, despite her official B-Form birth record documenting her age as 13. Maria’s father Shahbaz Masih, a driver, reported that Ahmad abducted his daughter on July 29, 2025, while she walked to a nearby shop in Lahore. The ruling represents a disturbing precedent where documentary evidence of a minor’s age can be dismissed in favor of testimony given after six months in an abductor’s custody.

Evidence of Fabrication Ignored by Higher Court

Two days after Maria’s abduction, on July 31, 2025, she appeared before Model Town Judicial Magistrate Hassan Sarfaraz Cheema and stated she had voluntarily converted and married Ahmad. Police immediately discharged the abduction case based solely on this statement. However, when Maria’s family pursued custody through the sessions court, police investigation revealed the marriage certificate was fabricated, a finding confirmed by the union council secretary who verified no legitimate marriage record existed. Despite this evidence and the subsequent restoration of criminal charges by a deputy superintendent, Ahmad was never arrested and appeared in court without hindrance, raising serious questions about police protection or collusion in enabling this crime against a minor.

Sharia Law Overrides Civil Protections for Minority Children

The ruling illuminates a systemic crisis where Pakistan’s legal framework fails to protect Christian and Hindu girls from religiously motivated abductions. Under Punjab law, the minimum marriage age for girls is 16, while national Christian marriage law raised the age to 18 in 2024. However, courts apply Sharia interpretations after forced conversions, permitting marriages of younger girls. Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology actively opposes legislation banning marriages under 18 as un-Islamic, leaving a similar Punjab bill stalled since April 2024. This creates a legal loophole where abductors exploit religious conversion as justification for child marriage and rape. Safdar Chaudhry, chairperson of Raah-e-Nijaat Ministry providing legal aid to Maria’s family, warned the ruling sets a dangerous precedent that will embolden other abductors targeting vulnerable minority girls.

Pattern of Persecution with Rare Justice

Maria’s case fits an established pattern affecting Christian and Hindu communities throughout Pakistan. Multiple recent cases demonstrate similar judicial failures: in May, a judge awarded custody of Catholic girl Jessica Iqbal to her abductor despite her inability to recite the Islamic conversion creed, clear evidence of coercion. Another 16-year-old Christian girl was kidnapped, forcibly married, raped, and trafficked before being rescued months later only after severe health decline prompted court intervention. While occasional positive outcomes occur, such as a January 2026 court order for recovery of another kidnapped Christian girl and a high court overturning one custody ruling favoring an abductor, these victories remain exceptions in a system where religious minorities face systematic disadvantage against Muslim abductors with apparent institutional protection.

Maria remains in Ahmad’s custody as her family considers filing a review petition and pursuing international forums to expose the judicial failures. The case underscores the vulnerability of religious minorities in Pakistan, where low-income families like the Shahbaz household lack resources to combat a justice system that prioritizes religious ideology over the protection of children. Human rights advocates emphasize that coerced statements from traumatized minors held captive for months cannot constitute valid consent, yet Pakistani courts consistently treat such testimony as definitive while disregarding objective documentary evidence. This systemic failure not only destroys individual lives but erodes any confidence minority communities might have in legal institutions meant to protect their most vulnerable members from predatory violence justified through religious conversion.