The forced marriage, whose victim is a girl from Faisalabad, is a new episode in the wave of violence by Islamic groups against minorities in Punjab. For its part, the extremist TLP party calls for the release of those who killed Nazir Masih, 72, falsely accused of blasphemy, stating that they acted “out of love for his faith.” Activists denounce that every person who belongs to a minority lives in terror.
Faisalabad () – Violence against the Christian minority in Punjab does not stop, a consequence of the extreme Islamic drift that affects that State. A few days after the death of Nazir Masih, a 72-year-old shopkeeper lynched in Sargodha on May 25 by an angry mob following a false accusation of blasphemy, the case of Laiba, a 10-year-old Christian girl, occurred. The daughter of Suhail Masih, a resident of Faisalabad, she was kidnapped, raped, forcibly converted to Islam and married to her kidnapper, Irfan Masih. The kidnapping took place on February 11, 2024 and was registered at the Roshanwala police station, Faisalabad, with report no. 169/24.
What happened is a new example of the attacks and persecutions against minorities in Pakistan because of their faith. The percentage of cases of blasphemy accusations and forced conversions is increasing day by day in Punjab. After the kidnapping, Laiba was handed over to a Muslim, Shafaqat Shah, an influential person who protects Irfan. The girl was forced by Shah to stay in Dar-ul-aman (Women’s Shelter) in Faisalabad, because he was not willing to return her to her parents. The family received a statement from the little girl in which she stated that she had embraced Islam voluntarily, that she had not been raped or forced into marriage and that she had gone to Dar-ul-aman of her own free will. But the marriage certificate that was sent to the family on March 6, 2024, which certifies the union with Irfan Masih, 35, who is also a convert and took the name Muhammad Irfan – father of a girl also converted to Islam – is clearly false.
The certificate, to which no official document is attached, says that Laiba is 17 years old. According to the birth document issued by Nadra (National Database & Registration Authority), the girl was born on October 15, 2013 and is therefore 10 years and 7 months old. Even after knowing the truth, police investigator Babar Sandhu told Suhail Masih that it is very difficult for Laiba to return home because she has accepted Islam.
Activists in Faisalabad held several sit-ins and press conferences to rescue Laiba; recently Mohammad Irfan was arrested by the police, but Laiba still lives in Dar-ul-Aman and Shafaqat Shah does not allow Laiba’s parents to see her, which makes the situation easier for the kidnapper. Shazia George, former member of the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), stated that civil society organizations and national human rights institutions must oppose the practice of child and forced marriage, validated by the police and the judiciary, which constitutes an offense under the Child Marriage Restriction Act. The marriage of a 10-year-old girl is violence, but it is a widespread practice in the country, which threatens the rights of young people and generates concern among parents, who ask for protection.
However, while minorities are facing various threats and raising their voice for protection and rights, Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan is holding a protest in Sarogodha seeking urgent release of culprits involved in the lynching of Nazir Masih. The TLP leader’s speech has gone viral on social media these days. In broad daylight, speaking to his followers, he said that there is no need to worry if a “choorha” (derogatory term used for Christians) has died in Sargodha, because he was not innocent and had committed blasphemy. He also added that the Muslims arrested in this case are innocent, because they committed the violence for the love of their faith. Therefore, he asked for his immediate release, otherwise the State will see a severe reaction.
Samson Salamat, president of the Rwadari Tehreek, an interreligious civil movement, told : “They openly utter hate speeches against religious minorities, incite violence, challenge state power, but the state apparatus remains silent.” In fact, all people belonging to religious minorities in Punjab live in fear and terror. “If no one intervenes effectively against the TLP and other extremist groups, the lives of the persecuted, their properties and places of worship will remain under constant threat,” he said. It would be important for the State to outlaw the TLP, banning it as a political party. “There should be a big debate in Parliament about the misuse of blasphemy laws and a judicial investigation into all blasphemy incidents, from Shanti Nagar (a tragedy that occurred in 1997, ed.) to the lynching of Nazir Masih.” .
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