Islamabad, July 14 (IANS) A recent resolution adopted by the European Parliament has sparked international concerns about the protection of minority girls in Pakistan, with civil society groups calling for stronger legal protection against abduction, forced religious conversion, and child marriage. Terming it as an important expression of international concern over gender-based violence, child abuse and religion-based discrimination, civil society representatives welcomed the resolution and call…
Latest Maria Shahbaz News & Updates
Brussels, July 12 (IANS) The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling on the Pakistani authorities to end the abduction and forced conversion to Islam of girls belonging to religious minority communities, according to a latest report. Citing United Nations data for 2025, the resolution stated that Christian girls account for nearly 25 per cent of cases involving forced religious conversion through marriage. In the resolution, Members of the European Parliament urged Pakistan to estab…
Brussels, July 10 (IANS) The European Parliament has adopted a resolution condemning the abduction, forced conversion, and child marriage of underage girls from religious minorities in Pakistan, while expressing concerns over the broader pattern of such abuses.According to the European Parliament, the resolution particularly highlighted the case of Maria Shahbaz, a 13-year-old Pakistani Christian girl who was abducted, converted to Islam, and forcibly married to her abductor in March 2026.The Me…
Washington, April 11 (IANS) Pakistan’s head of the Catholic Church, Bishop Samson Shukardin, has expressed concern over a government committee formed to review a recent ruling by the country’s top constitutional court that validated the marriage and forced conversion of a Christian minor girl. Pakistan’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar on April 5 announced that a committee had been formed to review the March 25 judgement of the Federal Constitutional Court validati…
Islamabad, April 5 (IANS) All Pakistan Minorities Alliance chairman and former federal minister for national harmony and minorities affairs, Paul Jacob Bhatti, has urged the government to establish an independent parliamentary commission to analyse cases of forced religious conversion and marriage of minor girls, local media reported. In a statement, Bhatti termed the issue a “matter of serious and legitimate concern” and warned that repeated cases of forced concern and child marriage were under…
Islamabad, April 4 (IANS) Human rights lawyers and defenders have sharply criticised the recent judgement of Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court which upheld the marriage of a minor Christian girl, Maria Shahbaz, to a Muslim man accused of kidnapping her, while rejecting a habeas corpus petition filed by her father. They described the ruling as “a missed opportunity to protect vulnerable individuals”, warning that it risks exacerbating inequality and fostering a climate of impunity, a …
Islamabad, April 2 (IANS) Christians, rights advocates and civil society members in Pakistan held protests against a federal court judgement upholding the forced conversion of a Christian girl by a Muslim man, local media reported. A protest was held after a Federal Constitutional Court in its verdict allowed a 30-year-old Muslim man to keep the custody of a 13-year-old Maria Shahbaz. On March 29, a large number of Christians gathered outside the Karachi Press Club carrying placards and shouting…
Islamabad, Feb 16 (IANS) A federal court in Pakistan has given custody of a 13-year-old Christian girl, identified as Maria Shahbaz, to a Muslim man who had abducted her, converted her to Islam, and married her, a report has revealed. Judges did not accept the birth certificate presented by the parents of Maria Shahbaz, that proved her age. Safdar Chaudhry, chairperson of rights group Raah-e-Nijaat Ministry, stated that the judges also rejected the earlier judicial findings that the marriage was…
Quetta, Jan 27 (IANS) Christian rights advocates and civil society groups have severely condemned the incident of a 13-year-old Christian girl being allegedly abused in Pakistan, urging the country’s authorities to protect vulnerable children from similar acts of violence and humiliation in the future. Local sources said the minor, identified as Zarnaab, was working as a domestic worker in an influential family of Pakistan’s Punjab province. Reportedly, she was tortured with household utensils, …
Islamabad, Jan 16 (IANS) A federal court in Pakistan has ordered the police to find and present a 13-year-old Christian girl who was kidnapped, converted and forcibly married to a Muslim man, local media reported. A two-judge bench of Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has ordered police to present Maria Shahbaz and 30-year-old Shehryar Ahmad in court. Supreme Court Attorney Rana Abdul Hameed said that Ahmad abducted Maria Shahbaz on July 29 last year, forcibly converted her to Islam and married…