On 16th August 2021 two teenage Christian cousins from Warburton, District Nankana Sahib were kidnapped at gunpoint outside their house by local Muslim men.

According to Mumtaz Bibi, the mother of Simran and aunt of Sheeza, on 11 August she went to attend the funeral of one of their relatives in Faisalabad with another family member, but she left her daughter Simran, aged 15-16, her son Anoos and her brother, Ghafoor Masih’s daughter Sheeza, 15, to stay together and look after Anoos, who is disabled.

But when she returned Simran and Sheeza were not at home. Crying, Anoos told her the girls had been kidnapped by two Muslim men, Ali Raza and Lali Iqbal, at gunpoint outside their house.

Anoos told his mother that around 4 PM Simran went to the shop to buy some food but Ali Raza and Lali who were present outside their house dragged Simran and forcefully pushed her into a rickshaw parked nearby. Simran started shouting and called for help. Sheeza went to help her, but she was also attacked. She started crying too and in the meantime, Anoos came out and when he saw that both girls were struggling against Ali and Lali who were pushing them into the rickshaw, he started shouting for help to save his sister.

Their neighbour Sahil and some people gathered around and tried to rescue the girls but Ali and Lali pointed their guns toward them and threatened to kill them if anyone interfered and tried to stop them.

Mumtaz further said in her statement the family tried to search for the girls but couldn’t find them. They went to the kidnapper’s houses, but their houses were locked and there was nobody there.

A local resident, Nadeem, said that he saw Ali and Lali in the Warburton area about 5 PM.

The Police has registered a case against Ali Raza, Lali Iqbal, Sabira Bibi, Sarang Chanan, Gongloo Sumendar and some other people who are believed to be involved by the victims’ families. Until now nobody has been arrested but the family is fearful about the girls’ wellbeing as several days have passed and they don’t know whether the girls are alive or not. They have heard horror stories about such cases but hope their daughters will return home safely.