News Desk
Lahore June 30, 2026:
Human rights organizations have criticized a court decision that placed a 16-year-old girl recovered after an alleged abduction into the custody of a woman who is not her legal guardian, raising concerns about the handling of cases involving underage girls from religious minority communities.
The groups urged authorities to add Section 376(iii) of the Pakistan Penal Code to FIR No. 507/26, which was registered under Section 365-B at Police Station Saddar, Mian Channu. They also called for the minor girl, identified as Minahil Nadeem* (name changed), to be returned to her parents and for those responsible to be prosecuted.
According to the organizations, the girl was allegedly abducted and later recovered by police from Sialkot approximately two weeks later. Police arrested the accused, Ansar Allah Ditta, who is currently detained in Khanewal Jail.
During court proceedings, advocate Hanif Hameed Mattu argued that, under Pakistani law, a minor lacks the legal capacity to independently contract a marriage or change religion. He cited a 2019 judgment of the Lahore High Court authored by Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and requested that the court restore the girl’s custody to her parents.
The groups said that during proceedings on June 23, 2026, the minor told Judicial Magistrate Sohail Anjum that Shazia Mai had converted her to Islam and that she feared threats from her family and their lawyer. Following the hearing, the magistrate ordered that the girl be released from Dar-ul-Aman, Khanewal, and placed in the custody of Shazia Mai under police protection.
Human rights advocates alleged that the magistrate improperly influenced the girl’s testimony by dictating statements regarding alleged threats from her family and legal counsel. These allegations have not been independently verified.
Joseph Jansen, chairman of Voice for Justice, said the case raises concerns about the conduct of judicial, police, and shelter-home officials. He stated that there should be an independent examination of whether the minor’s statements, including those concerning religious conversion and marriage, were made voluntarily. He also questioned the decision to place the girl in the custody of a person other than her legal guardians, alleging that the custodian had links to the accused.
Advocate Hanif Hameed Mattu said that the victim’s age, medical examination findings, the alleged abduction, and the sequence of events warrant a thorough investigation to determine whether coercion or undue influence occurred. He argued that the circumstances require authorities to examine possible sexual exploitation during the girl’s alleged unlawful confinement.
The organizations further stated that cases involving the alleged abduction, forced conversion, child marriage, and sexual violence against underage girls from minority communities continue to expose weaknesses in law enforcement and judicial responses. They called on authorities to conduct impartial investigations, prosecute those responsible, ensure fair trial proceedings, and provide victims with access to justice.
The groups also emphasized that laws addressing child marriage and sexual violence against children can only be effective if they are consistently enforced and interpreted by both law enforcement agencies and the judiciary.