Pakistani Christian sisters Parvisha Masih (18) and Sanam Masih (14) face a long legal battle after escaping from Muslim kidnappers who raped and forced them to convert to Islam. In early November, two Muslim men, Muhammad Irfan and Muhammed Mehboob, convinced the girls to get into their car by offering them positions at a salon to help support their family. The girls were subsequently drugged and taken to a hotel in the city of Mianwali where they were held at gunpoint, raped and threatened with death if they attempted to escape. The next day, they were driven to the city of Karachi where they were held for several days in the home of Mehboob's brother-in-law. Both girls were forcibly converted to Islam and their names were changed. The captors then took Parvisha and Sanam to a lawyer's office, reportedly to arrange their transfer to a government shelter for women. The lawyers told the girls they could spend the night with their families, but they were instead taken to an empty house where they were drugged again and Parvisha was sexually assaulted. When Sanam heard her sister crying out for help, she was able to steal one of the lawyer's cell phones and call the police. The lawyers and kidnappers were arrested and the girls were returned to their parents.
The Masih family anticipates a long and difficult battle for justice, as the legal system typically favours Muslims and rarely rules against alleged conversions to Islam.
Ask God to grant Parvisha and Sanam His healing, love, and strength as they recover from these attacks, especially as they fear a future of societal rejection. Pray that those responsible will repent and come to know Jesus. Pray for wisdom for the family's lawyers.
To learn more about how Pakistani believers suffer for Christ's sake, go to Pakistan Country Report.
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