Pakistan's religious minorities face mounting threats from violence, forced conversions, and weak legal enforcement, according to a report citing Joseph Janssen, founder of the Netherlands-based advocacy group Voice for Justice. The assessment was made in connection with the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, observed annually on 22 August under a United Nations resolution adopted in 2019.

Cases of Abducted Minority Girls

Janssen raised alarm over a pattern of minority girls allegedly abducted, forcibly converted, and subsequently married across Pakistan. He cited three specific cases: 13-year-old Amber Nadeem, allegedly abducted from Faisalabad on 12 June 2026; 14-year-old Sataish Mariam from Chichawatni in January; and 12-year-old Mariam Asif from Vehari in April.

In Amber's case, Janssen said she reportedly told a magistrate that the accused's family had pressured and coached her to claim she was an adult. He argued that such cases raise serious concerns about age verification, document authenticity, allegations of coercion, and whether a minor is capable of giving free and informed consent. He stressed that a minor's alleged consent must not override an independent assessment of the child's age, safety, and welfare.

Systemic Failures in Protection

Janssen said these cases reflect "broader concerns about the protection of minority children and the effectiveness of investigations and judicial processes in cases involving alleged abduction, conversion and marriage." He called on Pakistan's federal and provincial authorities to strengthen safeguards for religious minorities, hold perpetrators of religiously motivated violence accountable, and enforce existing child-protection and child-marriage laws.

Critics argue that legal provisions on paper have consistently failed to translate into effective protection on the ground, with low conviction rates and alleged institutional bias in cases involving minority communities.

Jaranwala Attacks: Justice Still Pending

Janssen also highlighted that Pakistani Christian families targeted in the Jaranwala attacks of 16 August 2023 — in which mobs damaged 26 churches and more than 80 homes — continue to seek justice nearly three years later. "Jaranwala was an attack on an entire Christian community," he said, urging authorities to hold accountable those involved in planning, inciting, or facilitating the violence.

This comes amid a broader pattern of mob violence against minority communities in Pakistan, with accountability remaining elusive in several high-profile cases. Notably, the Jaranwala incident drew international condemnation at the time, yet prosecutions have remained limited, according to rights groups.

Calls for Constitutional Accountability

Janssen urged Pakistani authorities to "translate constitutional guarantees of equality and freedom of religion into effective protection for citizens and accountability for human-rights violations." He called for an independent judicial mechanism to assess cases involving alleged abduction and conversion of minors, free from coercion or external pressure.

As international scrutiny of Pakistan's minority rights record intensifies, advocates say the gap between constitutional promise and ground-level reality remains wide — and dangerously so for the country's most vulnerable communities.