By Arianna Erickson —
Maria Shahbaz was only 12 years old when a 30-year-old man kidnapped her in Lahore, Pakistan. He took her home and “married” her, forging documents. Maria was forced to convert to Islam. Today, she is 13 and pregnant with his child.
Due to police inaction and capriciousness of the judge, her captor Muhammad Shehryar has been able to keep her, a lawyer for her parents say. The judge decided to NOT look at her legal birth certificate, looked at her face and said, “She looks older.”
“They did not verify her age according to her birth certificate. Instead, they looked at her and said, she doesn’t look 13. She looks older and they sent her home with the abductor,” says Kelsey Zorzi, Senior Counsel and Director of Advocacy for Global Religious Freedom at ADF International.
Welcome to Pakistan, where on civil law books, it’s illegal to abduct and marry underage girls but the bedrock of Sharia law underlying society perverts justice. Prophet Mohammad, who is the best example of humanity, consummated marriage to Ayeesha when she was nine, establishing precedent for Muslim societies and Muslim culture.
On July 24, the Federal Constitutional Court will review its decision from March in favor of the abductor. In addition to not looking at the birth certificate, the court accepted her statement of her willingness to stay with her abductor, without considering the possibility of duress. An investigation revealed that the marriage certificate was forged, but this was not taken into account, lawyers say.
“We will approach all available forums to highlight systemic flaws that allow perpetrators to sexually exploit minor girls with impunity under the guise of religious conversion and marriage,” said Safdar Chaudhry, chairperson of rights group Raah-e-Nijaat Ministry. “If superior courts refuse to recognize official birth documents, there is little hope for protecting minor girls.”
Maria was born into a Christian family, a religious minority in Pakistan. Her father, Shahbaz Masih, a driver and father of five, said his neighbor abducted Maria when she stepped outside their home to go to a nearby shop.
Masih filed an First Information Report at Nawab Town Police Station in Lahore, but police later informed him that Maria had recorded a statement on July 31, 2025, before Model Town Judicial Magistrate Hassan Sarfaraz Cheema, claiming she had converted to Islam and married Ahmad voluntarily.
Related content: Pakistani abducted/married/converted at 11 years of age, why did the UK do next to nothing to protect 250K girls from foreign rapists? a Muslim can do what he wants with a non-Muslim. Sources: EWTN News, Morning Star News, others.
