Pakistan Christian Girl Forced To Marry and Convert; Two Boys Held For ‘Blasphemy’
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – There was concern Thursday about three Christian youngsters in Pakistan, including a 12-year-old girl who was forced to marry and convert to Islam while two 18-year-old brothers were charged with blasphemy, several sources said.
Parveen Shaukat, a Catholic widow and mother to eight children, said that Muhammad Asad abducted her youngest daughter from the Habibabad Mandi area in Pattoki Tehsil, Kasur District of Punjab Province, on August 9.
After failing to find a trace of their child, the family contacted Christian attorney Sumera Shafique for legal aid.
“I’m filing a petition in the Lahore High Court for the child’s recovery,” Shafique told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News publications.
“It’s very unfortunate that police delay action in cases involving underage minority girls, which allows the perpetrators to scar these children for life.”
Shafique said she also intends to charge the suspect with various crimes, including child marriage and rape after he and the girl appear in court.
Officers reportedly registered a case against Asad for kidnapping a person from lawful guardianship, punishable by up to seven years in prison under Section 363 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
NOT ENOUGH
“But this charge is not enough,” Shafique said. “The accused not only kidnapped the child, he converted her and contracted an Islamic marriage to save himself from prosecution,” seen as a standard practice by kidnappers to exploit underage minority girls sexually.
Worthy News does not publish names of rape victims unless they come publicly forward.
Separately, two Christian brothers in Pakistan were detained and charged with blasphemy against Islam after they were accused of desecrating pages of the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims, Christians said.
Tabish Shahid and Kalu Shahid, 18-year-old sons of Shahid Masih of Kalay Wala Tehsil in the Kasur District of Punjab Province, were detained after a Muslim, Ghulam Mustafa, complained that the illiterate twins allegedly destroyed pages of the Koran.
Desecrating the Koran carries a life sentence in Muslim-majority Pakistan, but intent must be proven for a conviction.
Mustafa alleged that the brothers “had desecrated” Koranic pages at a local village fair.
“The boys were making TikTok videos by throwing fake currency notes and bits of paper during the annual Urs [anniversary] at the shrine of Baba Ronaq Shah when some locals noticed quranic verses on the torn paper,” Mustafa stated in the First Information Report (FIR) to police, violating Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy legislation.
HUMAN FRIENDS
Sajid Christopher of the Human Friends Organization said the brothers were illiterate and belonged to a poor family.
“Tabish and Kalu had gone to the shrine to watch the Urs celebrations and make [social media platform] TikTok videos. When they saw other people throwing money into the air in jubilation, the boys thought of having some fun,” he said in published remarks.
“Due to their illiteracy and ignorance, the two did not realize that they had inadvertently torn pages of a quranic booklet placed nearby.”
Family members of the young men surrendered them to the police after officials took their mother and a maternal uncle into custody, Christopher said.
“Their father. “The boys had also begun working at a local factory just a few days before this incident.”
Christopher said the family had contacted his organization for legal support, which engaged a Muslim lawyer, Chaudhry Imtiaz, to defend the brothers. Stressing the need to raise awareness about “the threat of blasphemy accusations among the illiterate poor,” Christopher said many accused Christians lack primary education.
“While it’s true that a majority of blasphemy allegations arise from personal disputes and rivalries, there are instances where Christians have found themselves in trouble due to their illiteracy,” Christopher added. “Church and civil society organizations should focus on this aspect as well to prevent people from getting implicated in these cases.”
Pakistan, a strict Islamic country, has seen numerous Christians being detained and even killed by angry mobs over the years.
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