Islamabad, April 19 (NationPress) Authorities in Pakistan have declined to assist in the recovery of a 15-year-old Christian girl who was reportedly abducted at gunpoint, forcibly converted to Islam, and then married off to her captor, as per the statements of her father, a recent report highlights.

Afzal Javed Masih, residing in the village of Chak No. 648-GB in Jaranwala, Punjab, revealed that his daughter, Sidra Bibi, was taken from their home by a Muslim man named Ali Murtaza and two accomplices on March 27.

Masih explained that the assailants entered their residence by scaling the wall around 3 a.m., seizing Sidra at gunpoint, as reported by Christian Daily International.

As a scrap collector in Sialkot, Masih relies on his work for his family's livelihood and learned of his daughter’s kidnapping from relatives.

Upon speaking with Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, Masih stated, "I rushed back to the village and filed a First Information Report (FIR) on the same day, with hopes of safely retrieving my daughter."

While police registered the case, they incorrectly recorded Sidra Bibi's age as 17 instead of her actual age of 15, as indicated on her birth certificate.

Masih mentioned, "I am not educated and only discovered this mistake later, when a rights activist pointed it out to me."

Initially, law enforcement detained relatives of the suspect, but they were subsequently released after documents emerged claiming that Sidra Bibi had voluntarily converted to Islam and married Murtaza Ali in Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab.

He disputed the legitimacy of the document, which purportedly contained an affidavit signed by Sidra, alleging she was an adult and converted to Islam after viewing religious content online.

Masih criticized this assertion as "absurd," stating, "My daughter has never been to school, and our family cannot afford a smartphone due to our financial circumstances."

He further alleged that Murtaza Ali had previously harassed their family.

Despite his complaints, he noted that police have taken no substantial action, expressing, "If they had acted promptly, this incident might have been avoided."

He lamented that the investigation seems to have halted, leaving the family with diminished hope of finding their daughter.

Masih pointed out that his family is the only Christian household in their village, raising concerns about their safety due to their minority status, as reported by Christian Daily International.

Meanwhile, Lazar Allah Rakha, a prominent Christian lawyer who has represented similar cases, asserted that police should have pursued the case under the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Ordinance 2026, regardless of the FIR discrepancies.

Rakha commented to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, "Even if the girl's age is mistakenly recorded as 17, the law forbids marriage for those under 18."

He added, "Law enforcement should also have considered additional charges related to statutory rape and abduction."

He also identified inconsistencies in the Islamic marriage certificate, including the lack of Sidra’s national identity card number, which is mandated by law.