The European Parliament has passed a strongly worded resolution urging Pakistan's authorities to immediately curb the abduction and forced religious conversion of girls belonging to religious minority communities. The resolution draws on United Nations data from 2025, which shows that Christian girls make up roughly 25 percent of victims in cases involving forced religious conversion and forced marriage. These figures pushed European lawmakers to raise serious questions about the safety of minorities in Pakistan.
What the resolution demands
Members of the European Parliament called on Pakistan to build a comprehensive national framework aimed at ending child marriage altogether. Lawmakers also urged the government to set up a dedicated national mechanism through which families of minority girls who have been abducted or forced to convert can formally register their complaints. According to the lawmakers, families currently have no reliable channel to seek justice or even file a grievance in such cases.
Maria Shahbaz's case takes centre stage
The resolution specifically highlighted the case of 13-year-old Christian girl Maria Shahbaz. It states that in July 2025, 30-year-old Shehryar Ahmed allegedly abducted Maria. He is accused of forcing her to convert to Islam and coercing her into marriage. Her case has come to symbolise the broader pattern of abuse faced by minority girls in Pakistan.
Questions raised over the court ruling
Lawmakers also pointed to the legal proceedings tied to the case. They noted that despite evidence of alleged manipulation of official documents and proof that the girl is a minor, Pakistan's Federal Constitutional Court ruled in favour of the accused, Shehryar Ahmed, and sent Maria back into his custody. The European Parliament sharply criticised this court ruling and demanded that Maria Shahbaz be given legal assistance and mental health support to help her recover from the ordeal.
Over a thousand minors targeted every year
The resolution also cited estimates from human rights organisations, which suggest that more than 1,000 minors from minority communities in Pakistan face such atrocities every single year. The figure underscores that cases like Maria Shahbaz's are not isolated incidents but part of a much wider, ongoing problem.
Concerns over the role of local authorities
The European Parliament also expressed deep concern over allegations that local officials often collude with the accused in such cases, while courts frequently overlook child protection laws. Lawmakers said this negligence, or in some cases outright collusion, ends up indirectly encouraging forced religious conversions and, at times, even lending them a degree of legal legitimacy.
Call for transparent investigations from Islamabad
The resolution placed strong emphasis on strengthening institutional action. Members of the European Parliament urged Islamabad to ensure transparent and impartial investigations into every case of abduction and forced religious conversion. They also called for a system that safely reunites victimised girls with their families, alongside stronger legal safeguards to protect them going forward.
