There is a constant increase in kidnappings of minors in Pakistan, who are then forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslims, causing outrage and more and more international organizations are condemning this drama.
The Pakistani Bishops’ Conference and dozens of human rights organizations have urged the Government of Pakistan to gather data on the vertiginous increase in cases of forced conversions to present them to Parliament, reports the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need(ACN).
According to ACI Prensa, the report submitted in July to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Lahore Center for Social Justice (CJS), an observatory run by Catholic activist Peter Jacob, submitted 78 cases of forced conversion in 2021 alone, an increase of cases of 80% compared to the year 2020.
Recently, a 14-year-old Christian minor named Mehwish Bibi was kidnapped by a Muslim neighbor who forced her to convert to Islam and forcibly married her.
In 2021, a court ruled in favor of the minor and allowed her to divorce the man in his 40s, due to his “harsh and cruel behavior.”
The subject kidnapped her in August last year, took her some 137 kilometers from her hometown, Lahore, and presented conversion and marriage documents to a local court.
“I resisted at all times, but I used to put something in my food. Also, he beat me,” said Mehwish Bibi.
The minor’s parents asked Christians’ True Spirit (CTS) for help, which requested the dissolution of Bibi’s marriage in court.
Currently, Bibi lives in a CTS reception center, a place that houses eight other women between the ages of 13 and 60 who were victims of kidnapping.