Needed Freedom from Kidnapping

On January 5th, 12-year-old Saba Shafique was abducted from her home in Lahore, Pakistan, and forced to convert to Islam before being married to her abductor. This devastating incident occurred despite the country's laws prohibiting child marriage.

The man responsible, Muhammad Ali, was a Muslim neighbour who became friends with Saba's family. On the day of the kidnapping, Muhammad took the Christian girl to the bazaar. However, rather than returning to her home afterwards, they travelled by bus to the city of Sialkot where a cleric fabricated a certificate claiming that Saba had converted to Islam. The cleric then falsely stated that Saba was 18 years old before marrying them. A few days later, fearful that he would be discovered by the authorities, Muhammad fled the area – taking Saba with him – and travelled to a village in Sindh Province.

While initially it appeared as though the police were not adequately investigating the case, Lahore authorities had conducted a raid on March 5th in conjunction with police from Sindh Province. Thankfully, following the arrest of her abductor, Saba was recovered and then safely returned to her family the next day.

In a separate incident, a 14-year-old Christian girl named Saneha Sharif was lured from her home in Sialkot on January 9th. The young teen was forced into a van by a group of seven individuals, one of whom was identified as her neighbour. (Further information on this kidnapping incident is available here.)

Although an eyewitness was able to identify those responsible for the abduction, Saneha remained missing for weeks. Finally, the police recovered the girl on February 19th. However, rather than returning Saneha directly to her family, she was placed in a government shelter. Due to the trauma of the incident, the young teen was unable to articulate clearly what had happened to her. After multiple court hearings, she was finally able to express her desire to return home on March 6th. At that point, she was finally released by the government and rightfully placed in her parents' custody.

Following Saneha's release, Nasir Saeed, who serves as the director of CLAAS-UK, condemned the situation, stating: "Forced conversions and abductions of underage Christian and Hindu girls have become a pattern in Pakistan; and despite court orders, justice is often delayed. Saneha's case is a rare victory, but many others remain unheard." For previously published reports addressing the severe challenges facing Christian women and girls in Pakistan, and/or to view informative video interviews, visit our country profile.

• Praise God for the safe return of these two girls to their concerned families!
• As Saba and Saneha now go through the recovery process, may the Lord minister greatly needed psychological and physical healing in each of their lives.
• Pray that those responsible for the girls' abductions will ultimately be brought to justice.
• Intercede on behalf of the many other victimized girls and young women who have yet to be released from their abductors, asking the Lord to divinely intervene in each of their situations.
• May great measures be taken in Pakistani society to ensure the protection of vulnerable minorities, so that such incidents of kidnapping and violence will no longer take place.