A 14-year-old Christian girl with epilepsy and mental health challenges was allegedly kidnapped from Lahore, Pakistan, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to a 41-year-old married Muslim man who reportedly exploited her medical condition, according to a report by Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. The incident, which came to light on 21 May, has drawn fresh attention to a pattern of forced conversions targeting vulnerable minority girls in Pakistan.

How the Abduction Unfolded

Abbas Masih, a daily wage labourer and member of a local Brethren church in Lahore's Gulbahar Colony, said his daughter Nisha Bibi — who worked as a domestic helper at a Muslim household — did not return home from work on 12 May. When the family visited her employer's residence, they were told she had already left.

Masih contacted the police after being unable to locate her. Officers lodged a First Information Report (FIR) for abduction after CCTV footage from the employer's home showed Nisha leaving with an unidentified middle-aged man. The family shared a screenshot from the footage with area residents to identify the man.

'A woman employed in a house opposite my daughter's workplace immediately recognised the man as her 41-year-old husband, Arshad Habib,' Masih said. The woman reportedly told the family that Habib had disappeared the same day along with their two minor children without informing her.

Fabricated Documents and Health Exploitation

Masih said Nisha's epilepsy and mental health challenges made her an easy target. He further noted that the accused had allegedly been married three times previously and had children from those marriages.

Police subsequently presented the family with documents claiming Nisha had converted to Islam on 15 February and married Habib three days later. 'We were shocked to see an alleged conversion certificate and marriage documents presented as proof that my daughter willingly converted and married the accused,' Masih said, adding that the documents appeared to have been fabricated to shield Habib from criminal prosecution.

The family's lawyer, Zunara Patrick, said Habib had allegedly maintained several marriages simultaneously. The legal team located Habib in Rahim Yar Khan district of Pakistan's Punjab province, where he was allegedly staying with Nisha and two children reportedly taken from his third wife.

Patrick filed a habeas corpus petition on behalf of Habib's third wife seeking recovery of her children and nominated Habib as the principal suspect in Nisha's kidnapping. A statement purportedly submitted before a magistrate in Lahore on 2 March claims Nisha is 18 years old, converted voluntarily, and married Habib of her own free will — claims Patrick has categorically rejected, accusing Habib of using religion to evade accountability.

A Recurring Pattern in Pakistan

This case is not isolated. In April, a separate report revealed that police in Pakistan had refused to recover a 15-year-old Christian girl, Sidra Bibi, from Jaranwala city in Punjab, who was allegedly abducted at gunpoint from her home on 27 March by a Muslim man named Ali Murtaza and two accomplices, who entered the house by climbing a wall.

Her father, Afzal Javed Masih, said police inaccurately recorded Sidra's age as 17 instead of 15 as stated on her official birth certificate. 'I am illiterate and only learned of this discrepancy later, when a rights activist pointed it out,' he said. Police initially arrested relatives of the suspect but released them after documents surfaced claiming Sidra had converted to Islam and willingly married Murtaza Ali in Rahim Yar Khan district.

Broader Context and What Comes Next

Rights groups have long documented the use of allegedly fabricated conversion and marriage documents in Pakistan to obstruct justice in cases involving minority girls. The repeated appearance of Rahim Yar Khan district as a location in both cases has drawn scrutiny from legal advocates.

The habeas corpus petition filed by Patrick is currently pending, and the outcome of the FIR against Habib will be closely watched by minority rights organisations. Both cases underscore persistent concerns about the protection of Christian and other minority communities under Pakistan's legal framework.