Lahore, Pakistan – April 7, 2025 — In a rare and significant legal victory for a persecuted Christian family, the Lahore High Court has ordered the immediate return of 14-year-old Ariah Gulzar to her mother, Sumera Gulzar, months after the child was abducted from their home in Punjab.

Ariah was kidnapped at gunpoint on January 20, 2025, from her home in Chak 55/2L village, Okara District, by 40-year-old Muslim neighbour Sajjad Baloch and two accomplices. The abductors later threatened the family with violence and warned of trafficking Ariah if they pursued legal action. Despite the intimidation, the family remained resolute in their efforts to recover their daughter.

When Ariha was finally presented in court by the police on April 7, she appeared disoriented and reportedly under pressure. In her statement, she claimed to be 18 years old, said she had converted to Islam, and insisted that she had married her alleged abductor of her own free will.

However, official documents submitted to the court by the family’s legal team — supported by the Christian legal aid organization CLAAS and its partners in Pakistan — confirmed that Ariah is a minor. These records, including her birth certificate, were accepted by Justice Shahram Sarwar as valid government-issued evidence.

Rejecting the defence’s arguments and the claim of a lawful marriage, Justice Sarwar ruled in favour of the family and ordered Ariha’s immediate release and return to her mother’s custody.

“This is a great legal victory not only for the family and our legal team but for all human rights activists,” said Nasir Saeed, Director of CLAAS-UK. “Too often in similar cases, courts accept claims under Shariah law and allow underage girls to remain with their abductors. In Islam, any girl who has started menstruating is sometimes wrongly considered an adult, leading to misuse of this interpretation to justify child marriages. This ruling sends a powerful message of justice for vulnerable minority girls in Pakistan.”

Saeed also highlighted the broader implications of the ruling, noting Pakistan’s need for more robust child protection laws.

“The High Court has previously ruled to raise the legal marriage age for girls from 16 to 18. However, legislation is still pending in Parliament,” he added. “Pakistan has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and is therefore obligated to align its domestic laws with international standards.”

“Ariah and her family are fortunate,” Saeed continued, “but there are many others who are still waiting for justice. Some parents have abandoned the struggle altogether after repeated failures and intimidation.”

He stressed the urgent need for the Pakistani government to enforce existing laws, particularly the Child Marriage Restraint Act, and to prosecute those who lure, convert, and marry underage girls under coercion — a practice that often goes unpunished due to cultural and religious pressures.

This landmark decision is a beacon of hope for countless families and underscores the urgent need for legal reforms and protections for religious minority girls in Pakistan, many of whom are abducted, forcibly converted, and married against their will each year.

An estimated average of 1,000 Hindu and Christian girls are forced to convert to the Islamic faith. However, human rights organizations working on the issue believe that it is highly plausible that a substantial number of occurrences remain unreported. Forced conversion of religious minorities primarily girls, some younger than 12 years old, seemed to have become a norm not only for the Pakistani government but for the community as well. Hardly any member of society admits to seeing the severity of the problem at hand. Moreover, government and law enforcement agencies, those with power who supposedly are knowledgeable about the laws and legalities regarding human rights, are aware of the situation yet turn a blind eye.