By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – Christians have urged “prayers for the safety of girls” in Pakistan after a Christian girl who was kidnapped last month, forced to convert to Islam, and marry one of her Muslim captors came to symbolize their suffering.
The 16-year-old girl was reportedly abducted from her parents’ home in the city of Jaranwala in the Faisalabad District of Punjab province by suspect named as Ghazaal Jutt, and and two armed accomplices Afzal Jutt and Ramzan Jutt.
She was kidnapped while her parents were out on September 12, Christians added.
Although her name was previously mentioned in the reporting, Worthy News usually does not identify victims of possible sexual abuse unless they choose to come forward publicly.
Neighbors reportedly saw the girl being forced into a van at gunpoint and driven away.
Although her parents reported the crime to the police immediately, any actions of response made by local officials have been delayed, according to investigators.
“Since the three abductors are reputed to be hostile towards Christians, the parents are not only concerned for her safety but also that of their other family members,” said the rights group Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC).
KNOWN PERPETRATORS
These same three men allegedly involved in her kidnapping “were known perpetrators” in the Jaranwala riots in August 2023 when a Muslim mob vandalized and destroyed over 20 churches and more than 80 Christian houses, Christians said.
On September 16, four days after the kidnapping, the family received a video message from the kidnapped girl via the social media message service WhatsApp in which she claimed to have “voluntarily” converted to Islam and married Ghazaal Jutt of her “own free will, Worthy News established.
“However, the teenage girl’s parents are convinced that their daughter was coerced into recording the video message. Additionally, her mother states that the young woman “detested Ghazaal,” for he and his friends had regularly harassed her,” VOMC told Wothy News.
Christians linked her conversion to Islam to a recently adopted law that makes it illegal for Christians in Pakistan to marry before the age of 18 was officially passed.
“One of the primary purposes of this bill is to prevent coercive marriages involving minors from taking place. However, this law is not applicable if a Christian minor converts to Islam prior to marriage,” VOMC said in an assessment.
A further provincial law, which will raise the age of marriage for all people in Punjab, is pending. “But until that law is passed, the legal age for Muslim girls remains at 16.”
Her kidnapping came amid broader concerns about the roughly 1,000 girls who are believed to be victims of forced conversions and marriages each year in Pakistan.
GIRLS SAFETY
VOMC said it had urged prayers “for the safety of girls” and women in Pakistan, especially the recently kidnapped girl.
“Please remember her in your prayers during the days to come, specifically interceding for her need of protection, strength, and comfort – physically, spiritually, and emotionally – as she deals with this terrible situation.”
They also urged prayers for the family as they “desperately seek legal justice on her behalf” in the Islamic nation. “May the Pakistani authorities work diligently to return this precious teenage girl to her concerned family and ensure the perpetrators responsible for committing these crimes are duly held accountable,” VOMC said.
News of her abduction came ahead of the annual global International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IODP) on Sunday, November 3, which will focus this year on Christian women.
“This year’s theme is Remember Her. While all followers of Jesus can suffer for their faith, the various forms of persecution that Christian women face often look different than those encountered by Christian men,” VOMC explained to Worthy News.
“For women and girls, persecution is often complex, hidden, and violent. It can be characterized by sexual violence and forced marriage, as well as by insidious, invisible abuse behind closed doors.”
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The human cost of the war between Russia and Ukraine continued on Saturday as Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russia and renewed Russian attacks on Ukraine left more civilians dead and injured.
Germany’s interior minister has warned of a heightened security threat, saying attacks could be imminent, as Europe’s largest economy remains on edge over terrorism and violent attacks targeting critical infrastructure.
Uganda suspended all school trips “until further notice” Friday after a school bus crash killed 20 pupils and one adult overnight. The decision came as Uganda mourned one of its deadliest school transport tragedies in recent years.
Britain’s governing Labour Party has elected Andy Burnham as its new leader, clearing the way for him to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday.
Protesters in Kyiv called for the dismissal of Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, after a new round of deadly Russian strikes and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s removal of a popular defense minister sparked outrage.
President Donald Trump warned Thursday night that America’s election infrastructure remains dangerously exposed to foreign interference, announcing the release of declassified documents that he said reveal China acquired voter-registration data belonging to approximately 220 million Americans.
The Trump administration has formally designated the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras as foreign terrorist organizations, expanding the federal government’s effort to dismantle criminal networks accused of flooding American communities with illegal drugs and terrorizing populations on both sides of the southern border.