Pakistan: Christian Parents Worry Abducted 10-Year-Old Daughter May Be Sex-Trafficked

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The Christian parents of a 10-year-old girl in Pakistan are concerned she may fall into the hands of sex traffickers after being abducted by a Muslim man known for kidnapping children to forcibly convert them to Islam, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Muslim-majority Pakistan ranks seventh on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

Laiba Suhail was abducted from her home in Chak 233-RB Ikhlaq Town, Faisalabad District, Punjab Province, on Feb. 12 by four men acting on behalf of local Muslim Shaukat Shah, MSN reports.

Laila’s father, Suhail Masih, told MSN that Shah is well known for abducting children on religious pretexts. “We fear that he and his accomplices are involved in sex trafficking, and they sell these minor girls when they see that the families are in no position to pursue the matter further in courts,” Masih said. The local Roshan Wala Police Station has declined to take action against Shah, despite the family’s filing of an abduction complaint.

Christian attorney Sumera Shafique noted in a statement to MSN: “Laiba’s case is yet another example of how sharia [Islamic law] is invoked to undermine the age of a minor.” Emphasizing the importance of a habeas corpus to bring Laiba before a high court judge, Shafique said: “The child is hardly ten years old, and I believe the high court will take her conversion matter very seriously.”

In a website statement about the intense persecution of Christians in Pakistan, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization reports: “The number of Christian girls (and those from other minority religions) abducted, abused and forcefully converted to Islam (frequently backed by lower courts) is growing.”

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