On March 26, 2026, Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) dismissed a petition filed by Shahbaz Masih, a 38-year-old Christian driver from Lahore, who had been fighting through the country’s court system for eight months to recover his 13-year-old daughter Maria. The verdict — the fourth successive judicial rejection of his claim — has sent shockwaves through Pakistan’s Christian community and renewed urgent calls from human rights organisations for systemic reform of how the country’s courts handle cases involving the alleged forced conversion and marriage of underage Christian girls.

The case began on July 29, 2025, when Shahbaz Masih reported to Nawab Town Police Station that Maria had been abducted by Shahryar Ahmad, a 23-year-old Muslim mechanic who, according to the family, had allegedly been cultivating a relationship with them prior to her disappearance. FIR No. 5144/25 was registered. When Maria was subsequently presented before Judicial Magistrate Hassan Sarfarz, she stated — in a statement recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code — that she had converted to Islam and married Ahmad of her own free will. A conversion certificate and Nikah Nama were submitted to the court.

Shahbaz Masih contested every element of those claims. He argued that Maria was a minor, supported by NADRA-issued documents. He alleged that the relationship with Ahmad had been deliberately cultivated as part of a pattern of grooming. He claimed she was being unlawfully detained. And he argued that a 13-year-old girl could not meaningfully consent to either conversion or marriage. None of it was sufficient to move any of the four courts that heard his case.

What the Court Decided — and Why

⚖️ FCC Ruling — Key Legal Findings

📖 The court rejected the argument that a Christian woman cannot marry a Muslim man, citing Islamic jurisprudence and the Marina Jatoi case precedent. Christians are classified as “People of the Book” (Ahl-e-Kitaab), making such marriages permissible.
🕌 The court accepted Maria’s conversion to Islam, ruling that no elaborate ritual is required — a declaration of faith is sufficient. Affidavit and certificate from a religious authority were deemed adequate proof.
👶 Regarding the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, the court noted the law criminalises solemnisation of child marriage but does not explicitly declare such marriages void. Under Muhammadan Law, if a person has attained puberty, the marriage may still be considered valid.
📄 The court found inconsistencies in Shahbaz Masih’s statements about Maria’s age and noted that her birth registration documents were issued seven to ten years after her birth, weakening their evidentiary value.
⚠️ The court relied on Maria’s own statement that she entered the marriage of her “own free will and consent,” treating it as determinative despite the family’s allegations of coercion and grooming.

I feel there is systemic discrimination against us. We have done everything possible to bring our daughter back. We are poor and have no influence, while the other side has political backing. We are still waiting for justice.

— Shahbaz Masih, Maria’s Father · Rasoolpura, Lahore

A Family in Crisis

The family — six members living in a rented house in Rasoolpura, Lahore — have paid an enormous price for pursuing justice. Shahbaz Masih, who works as a driver, and his wife Iram Shahbaz, 36, a domestic worker, are already struggling to support their five children: three daughters and two sons. The legal battle has added crippling costs to a household barely keeping afloat. The family has been forced to relocate after receiving threats they allege came from Shahryar Ahmad’s associates. They describe a climate of fear, financial ruin, and institutional indifference.

Voices of the Family

Father
Shahbaz Masih, 38 · Driver
“I feel there is systemic discrimination against us. We have done everything possible to bring our daughter back. We have even shifted our home due to threats. The circumstances are suspicious — from how he approached our family to the sudden disappearance of my daughter. We are poor and have no influence, while the other side has political backing. We are still waiting for justice.”
Mother
Iram Shahbaz, 36 · Domestic Worker
“I feel like all my hopes have died. It is as if I am living like a corpse. But as a Christian believer, I still have faith in God and hope for a miracle that Maria will reunite our family.”
Human Rights Activist
Mr. Napoleon Qayyum
“We strongly condemn this judgment of the court. The state should take action because the state is like our mother — and if the state is not taking any action, what can we expect from others? We will do everything to give the family their daughter back and the government should take serious action against this.”
Executive Director, HARDS
Mr. Sohail Habel · Humanitarian Action for Rights and Development Society
“After this judgment, the situation has become quite challenging for minorities, and especially for the Christian community, for taking these types of cases to court — because if the court is against us, then what is worse than this? The courtroom is a place where everyone gets justice. I do not consider this justice. The Christian community will also condemn this judgment and we will take this to the Supreme Court. We are hoping for the best.”

A Pattern Advocates Say Is Systemic

Maria’s case is not isolated. Human rights organisations working in Pakistan have documented hundreds of similar cases involving Christian and Hindu girls who have been subjected to what advocates describe as a pattern of forced conversion and marriage — a practice that courts have repeatedly legitimised by accepting conversion declarations and marriage certificates at face value while discounting families’ evidence of coercion, grooming, and minority status.

⚠️ Human Rights Context: Forced Conversions in Pakistan

Human rights groups estimate that hundreds of Christian and Hindu girls are subjected to forced conversion and marriage in Pakistan each year. The victims are disproportionately from poor, socially marginalised minority communities with limited access to legal counsel or political influence.

Courts frequently accept conversion certificates and nikah documents issued by private religious authorities without independent verification — and treat statements made by girls in the presence of their alleged abductors as freely given. Families’ documentation — often delayed due to poverty and bureaucratic barriers — is consistently devalued.

The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 remains unamended in most of Pakistan’s provinces and contains no provision explicitly declaring child marriages void, creating a legal loophole that courts have repeatedly used to uphold the marriages of girls under the age of 18.

The HARDS team visited the Masih family the day after the verdict to provide moral support. The organisation has confirmed it will support the family in appealing to Pakistan’s Supreme Court — the final domestic legal recourse available to Shahbaz Masih and his wife. In the meantime, Maria remains separated from her family, and her parents remain without answers about whether their daughter’s stated will was truly her own.

The courtroom is a place where everyone gets justice. I do not consider this justice.

— Sohail Habel, Executive Director, HARDS
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Faith & Freedom News will continue to follow the case of Maria as it proceeds to Pakistan’s Supreme Court. This report is based on field documentation by Younaib Qayyum and the Humanitarian Action for Rights and Development Society (HARDS), Lahore.