Teen Christian Girl Fights Abduction and Forced Conversion in Pakistan

Faith Facts

• A 16-year-old Christian girl in Lahore, Pakistan, was abducted by a Muslim coworker and forced to convert to Islam and marry him.
• Aneeqa Ishaq took a job as a restaurant cashier to help support her family before the abduction occurred.
• The case highlights ongoing persecution of Christians in Pakistan, where forced conversions and marriages remain a serious threat to religious minorities.

A teenage Christian girl in Pakistan is fighting to escape a forced marriage after being abducted and coerced into converting to Islam. The case has once again drawn attention to the dangerous reality facing Christian minorities in the predominantly Muslim nation.

Aneeqa Ishaq, just 16 years old, took a job as a cashier at a restaurant in Lahore to help her struggling family make ends meet. What should have been an opportunity to serve her loved ones turned into a nightmare when a Muslim coworker kidnapped her.

According to reports, the young girl was forced to convert to Islam against her will and was coerced into marrying her abductor. The incident is part of a disturbing pattern of violence and persecution targeting Pakistan’s vulnerable Christian community.

Christians in Pakistan face systemic discrimination and violence, with young girls particularly at risk of abduction, forced conversion, and marriage to Muslim men. Human rights advocates estimate that hundreds of Christian and Hindu girls suffer this fate each year, with little recourse through Pakistan’s legal system, which often sides with the abductors.

The plight of Christians in Pakistan stands as a stark reminder of why religious freedom matters. While American Christians enjoy constitutional protections, believers in many parts of the world face daily threats simply for holding to their faith.

Aneeqa’s case underscores the urgent need for international pressure on Pakistan to protect its religious minorities and uphold basic human rights. Her courage in fighting back against this injustice deserves our prayers and support.

As Christians who cherish liberty and justice, we must not turn a blind eye to the suffering of our brothers and sisters around the world. Their persecution should motivate us to defend religious freedom both at home and abroad.

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