A court in Faisalabad, Pakistan has awarded custody of a 13-year-old Christian girl to the Muslim man accused of kidnapping her, forcibly converting her to Islam, and marrying her — and this before a court-ordered medical examination to determine her age had been conducted. The case has drawn sharp criticism from rights advocates and comes amid growing international scrutiny of Pakistan's treatment of religious minorities.

What Happened in Court

Faisalabad Additional District and Sessions Judge Rana Sohail accepted an affidavit from the minor, Amber Nadeem, in which she stated she had converted to Islam and married the accused, Mohsin Liaqat, of her own free will and had not been kidnapped. On the basis of this statement, the judge granted Liaqat post-arrest bail. Liaqat had been in judicial custody since 26 June. According to reports, Amber then left the courtroom with the accused's relatives and lawyers while her parents stood by in tears.

Credibility Questions and the Suppressed Medical Test

Joseph Janssen, Chairman of the advocacy group Voice for Justice, said the verdict was issued despite a pending court-ordered medical examination to establish Amber's actual age. Janssen noted that on 27 June, Amber had appeared before a judicial magistrate and stated that members of the accused's family had pressured her to falsely claim she was an adult.

Further undermining the documents presented in court, the conversion and marriage certificate submitted by the accused listed Amber's date of birth as June 2008 — yet her parents married only in 2012, raising serious questions about the authenticity of the paperwork. The magistrate had ordered a medical examination and directed that Amber be placed in a government shelter home pending further proceedings. The sessions court's decision to grant custody and bail before that examination was completed is what rights advocates say constitutes the central injustice in this case.

European Parliament Condemns Pattern of Abuses

The case is not isolated. Earlier this month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution specifically condemning the abduction, forced conversion, and child marriage of underage girls from religious minorities in Pakistan. The resolution highlighted the case of Maria Shahbaz, a 13-year-old Pakistani Christian girl who was abducted, converted to Islam, and forcibly married to her abductor in March 2026. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) called for her to have access to legal representation, family contact, and psychological support.

Citing 2025 UN figures, the resolution noted that among women and girls affected by forced conversion through marriage in Pakistan, approximately 75 per cent were Hindu and 25 per cent were Christian.

Calls for Systemic Reform

The European Parliament urged Pakistan's authorities to fully implement the country's national framework to end child marriage — a framework already operational in some provinces — and to establish a national mechanism for handling complaints from families of abducted or forcibly converted girls from minority communities.

Rights groups argue that the pattern of judicial outcomes in such cases reflects structural failures in Pakistan's legal system when it comes to protecting minority women and girls. With international pressure mounting and the European Parliament's resolution on record, the question of whether Pakistani courts will revisit Amber Nadeem's case before the medical examination is completed remains open.