United Nations experts have repeatedly expressed concern. In April 2026 they highlighted the persistence of forced conversion through marriage, noting that in 2025 roughly three-quarters of documented victims were Hindu and one-quarter Christian

A new report presented at the European Parliament reveals that the average age of Christian girls abducted, forcibly converted and married in Pakistan is just 12.8 years, exposing a systemic pattern of child exploitation and legal failure.

The comprehensive dossier titled Stolen Girls, presented recently at the European Parliament by minority rights activist Joseph Janssen under the Jubilee Campaign’s “A Vital Voice” initiative, has laid bare a grim and systematic crisis of abduction of young Christian girls, their forcible marriage and sexual exploitation. 

Between 2019 and 2025, researchers documented 210 verified cases of abduction, forced religious conversion, child marriage and sexual violence targeting Christian girls across Pakistan. The data paint a picture of institutional loopholes, documentary fraud and near-total impunity that allow perpetrators to operate with little fear of consequence.

Over 83 per cent of the victims were children under 18. The average age of the girls was a shocking 12.8 years. In contrast, the average age of the perpetrators stood at 35.8 years, producing an average age gap of 23 years. In several cases the gap exceeded 30 years. Of the 210 girls, 41 were under 14, 134 were aged 14–17, and only 35 were 18 or older.

Punjab Emerges as the Epicentre

Geography further sharpens the picture. Fully 88.6 per cent of the cases (186) occurred in Punjab province. Sindh accounted for 22 cases (10.5 per cent) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for two. Ten “hotspot” districts alone produced 86.4 per cent of all documented incidents: Lahore (53 cases), Faisalabad (39), Gujranwala (16), Karachi (14), Sheikhupura (13), Kasur and Islamabad/Rawalpindi (nine each), Bahawalpur and Sialkot (seven each), and Okara (six).

These figures align with broader patterns recorded by other organisations. The Centre for Social Justice has documented hundreds of cases of abduction and forced conversion of minority girls and women in recent years, with Hindus forming the larger share overall and Christians prominent in Punjab. Independent estimates long cited by rights groups and parliamentary inquiries place the annual total of such abductions and forced marriages of Hindu and Christian girls in the region of 1,000, though under-reporting remains severe.

How Identity Is Erased

The Stolen Girls report details the precise mechanisms used to circumvent child-protection laws. In 92 per cent of cases the victim’s true age – often around 14 or 15 – was falsified on the marriage contract (nikah nama) to 18, 19 or 20. In 96 per cent of cases the girl’s Christian name was replaced with an Islamic one (Ayesha, Fatima, Khadija, Zehra and similar), rendering her virtually untraceable by her family. Conversion certificates were routinely issued by unauthorised local political actors, religious organisations or unregulated welfare NGOs operating outside any statutory framework.

Case after case illustrates the pattern. Thirteen-year-old Maria Shahbaz of Lahore was abducted; a defective nikah nama lacking a national identity number listed her as an adult. Despite this, courts initially awarded custody to her alleged husband. The matter has since been reopened in the Islamabad High Court. Eleven-year-old Yarosha Saleem of Sheikhupura waited six months for police to register an FIR. Ten-year-old Laiba Sohail of Faisalabad had her date of birth fabricated on the marriage contract and was described as “self-sufficient.” Fourteen-year-old Nisha Abbas of Lahore was renamed Maryam and declared 18 by a welfare association; another girl in Faisalabad received a certificate from a political-religious group renaming her Ayesha.

A Six-Stage Cycle of Impunity

Researchers identified a recurring six-stage sequence. First comes abduction or grooming. Second, forced conversion under threat or coercion. Third, the production of a fabricated nikah nama. Fourth, a coerced statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before a magistrate, in which the girl – still under the control of her abductor – declares she left home voluntarily. Fifth, court proceedings that routinely accept the forged documents and the recorded statement. Sixth, legal custody is granted to the perpetrator, who faces no meaningful penalty while the child’s original identity is erased.

Recent high-profile cases show the cycle still operating. In June 2026 a 13-year-old Christian girl from Faisalabad was abducted from a market. Police recovered her, yet a session court later returned custody to the alleged abductor after conversion and marriage certificates were produced that falsified her age. Human-rights defenders condemned the decision. Alliance Defending Freedom International has supported multiple such cases and reports that, of the dozens it has assisted since 2019, many girls have been returned to their captors despite clear evidence of minority status and minority age.

International Alarm and Domestic Inaction

United Nations experts have repeatedly expressed concern. In April 2026 they highlighted the persistence of forced conversion through marriage, noting that in 2025 roughly three-quarters of documented victims were Hindu and one-quarter Christian, with adolescent girls aged 14–18 the primary targets and some even younger. They urged Pakistan to raise the minimum marriage age to 18 nationwide, criminalise forced conversion as a distinct offence, and ensure independent age verification.

The European Parliament event at which Stolen Girls was launched itself formed part of growing international scrutiny. Lawmakers heard testimony that these are not isolated crimes but a structured pattern enabled by weak enforcement, documentary fraud and judicial reluctance to challenge religious conversion claims once they appear on paper.

Pakistani authorities have yet to enact comprehensive federal legislation specifically criminalising forced conversion. Provincial child-marriage laws exist but are routinely undermined by falsified ages and by the absence of mandatory electronic verification against NADRA birth records. Police often delay or refuse to register cases; courts frequently prioritise the conversion certificate over birth records or parental testimony.

Demands for Systemic Change

The Stolen Girls report lists seven concrete demands: criminalise coerced conversion; automatically void any marriage involving a person under 18; require official government identification as the sole standard for age verification before marriage registration; investigate police and judicial failures; create independent shelters and legal aid free from perpetrator influence; ensure Section 164 statements are taken without intimidation; and mandate training on child-protection law for judges, police and marriage registrars.

The report also names missing girls whose fate remains unknown – Maria Shahbaz, Nisha Abbas, Amber Nadeem, Sataish Mariam, Jessica Ashfaq and others – underscoring the human cost behind the statistics.

For minority Christian families in Punjab’s industrial towns and rural districts, the fear is immediate and daily. Girls are kept from school or work for fear of abduction. Once taken, the combination of name change, age falsification and a coerced court statement often seals their fate. The Stolen Girls data, presented in the heart of European democratic institutions, make clear that the average victim is still a child of twelve or thirteen. Without legislative, administrative and judicial reform, the cycle documented between 2019 and 2025 is likely to continue.