At least three Christian girls were reported to have been kidnapped in recent weeks allegedly to be forced into marriage with Muslims, said a report on the Catholic news site AsiaNews.
The latest victim, a 15-year-old girl identified only as Merab, was taken in Orangi Town near Karachi, said the report, quoting the girl’s mother.
“My daughter is a minor and she is innocent,” said Sumaira, mother of the girl who was reportedly abducted on March 7 by a man identified only a Noman.
The report said three persons linked to the abduction were already arrested, except for the kidnapper who still holds Merab.
“We ask Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Sindh government to take serious action against the delinquents,” said the mother, adding that the kidnapper has been threatening the family.
On February 25, Mariam, an 18-year-old girl, was also kidnapped while she was on her way to a training center where she was studying midwifery. She is still missing, according to the report.
Earlier, a 15-year-old girl named Persicla was also taken from her family home in Sumundhari, Faisalabad.
The girl’s father, Dilawar, said a Muslim man identified as Muhammad Qasim broke into the house and took the girl.
Naveed Lazar, secretary of the Pakistan Christian Association, said at least seven Christian girls have already been kidnapped in Orangi Town in recent months, and at least 120 were forcibly converted to Islam in the last five years.
A 2019 report by the human rights commission of Pakistan estimated that 1,000 Christian and Hindu women are abducted and forcibly married every year.
Pakistan’s tiny Christian population of about 2.5 million faces frequent discrimination, according to reports.
