Pakistan Outrage in the Name of Islam

The Lahore High Court has ordered Maria Shahbaz, a 14-year-old Christian girl who was abducted and forced to “marry” a Muslim man, to be handed over to her abductor. This decision overruled a lower court that had placed her in a women’s shelter.

Shahbaz was abducted at gunpoint while walking home on April 28th by Mohamad Nakash and two others. To justify his custody of Shahbaz, Nakash claimed that he and Shahbaz were married and that she has converted to Islam. Legal age for marriage in Pakistan is 16, not 14. In court he produced a phony marriage license saying she was 19 but a Muslim cleric said he never signed it.

Not even the girl’s birth certificate and school records deterred the judge, who handed over the 14-year-old Christian girl to a forced Muslim marriage.

Not too far away an American citizen of Pakistani descent was shot dead in a courtroom in Peshawar where he was standing trial for blasphemy. The killer has been hailed as a hero in that city, and banners with his image have been paraded up and down the streets.

Pakistan is an American “ally” that receives hundreds of millions of dollars each year in military equipment. It is the only Islamic nation with nuclear weapons.

In August I joined others in condemning the murders and kidnappings in Pakistan and calling for action by our Congress and the Trump Administration.

Please pray for Christians in these areas and for their continued safety.

William J. Murray, President