Islamabad, May 21: A shocking report has emerged from Lahore, where a 41-year-old married Muslim man allegedly kidnapped a 14-year-old Christian girl suffering from epilepsy and mental health issues. He reportedly forced her to convert to Islam and then married her, exploiting her vulnerable condition.
According to Christian Daily International, Abbas Masih, a member of the local Brethren Church, reported that his daughter, Nisha Bibi, worked as a domestic helper in a Muslim household. She went missing on May 12 after failing to return home from work.
Masih stated that when Nisha did not come home, they visited her employer’s house, where they were informed she had already left. After searching for her without success, they contacted the police. The police filed a kidnapping report after reviewing CCTV footage that showed Nisha leaving with an unidentified middle-aged man.
Masih shared that a woman working in a neighboring house recognized the man as Arshad Habib, who had disappeared that same day with his two minor children.
The report from Christian Daily International indicated that Nisha’s epilepsy and mental health challenges made her an easy target. Masih added, “We later learned that the accused had already been married three times and had children from those marriages.”
The police later presented documents claiming that Nisha converted to Islam on February 15 and married Habib three days later. Masih expressed disbelief, stating, “We were shocked to see that my daughter had supposedly converted willingly and married the accused. The documents presented as proof appeared to be fabricated to protect Habib from criminal charges.”
The family’s lawyer, Junara Patrick, revealed that Habib had allegedly married multiple times simultaneously. Patrick noted that the legal team located Habib in Rahim Yar Khan district of Punjab, where he was reportedly living with Nisha and his third wife along with two children.
Patrick mentioned that Habib filed a habeas corpus petition to regain custody of his two children from his third wife and has been named the main suspect in Nisha’s kidnapping case. According to Patrick, Habib has prepared fake legal documents to mislead investigators.
In a statement given before a magistrate in Lahore on March 2, it was claimed that Nisha was 18 years old, had converted to Islam voluntarily, and married Habib of her own accord. Patrick denied the authenticity of this statement and accused Habib of using religion as a shield to evade responsibility.
Earlier in April, reports surfaced that police in Pakistan had refused to rescue a 15-year-old Christian girl who was kidnapped at gunpoint. The victim’s father alleged that his daughter was forcibly converted to Islam and married to her kidnapper.
According to Christian Daily International, Afzal Javed Masih from Jaranwala, Punjab, reported that his daughter, Sidra Bibi, was kidnapped on March 27 by a Muslim man named Ali Murtaza and his accomplices. He stated that they broke into their home and abducted Sidra at gunpoint.
Masih noted that while the police registered the case, they incorrectly recorded Sidra’s age as 17 instead of her actual age of 15, as per her official birth certificate. He expressed frustration, saying, “I am uneducated and only learned about this discrepancy later when an activist pointed it out.”
He added that the police initially arrested relatives of the suspects but later released them. Documents surfaced claiming that Sidra had converted to Islam and married Murtaza Ali willingly in Rahim Yar Khan district.
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