Christian Teen Vanishes, Reappears as Online Bride in Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan — When 16-year-old Jia Liaqat disappeared from her village in Pakistan’s Punjab province in early April, her family feared the worst. Weeks later, they say those fears became reality: their daughter, a Christian teenager, had allegedly been coerced into converting to Islam and married online to a man living in Dubai.

The case has ignited outrage among human rights advocates and renewed scrutiny of Pakistan’s long-standing crisis involving the abduction and forced conversion of girls from religious minority communities.

Jia vanished on April 3 from Chak No. 505/WB, a rural village near Burewala in Vehari District, while her parents were working in nearby agricultural fields. Her father, Liaqat Masih, an Anglican Christian and father of seven, immediately reported her disappearance to local police.

But according to the family, authorities showed little urgency.

Five days later, the family received a WhatsApp call from a man identifying himself as Sohail Riaz, who allegedly claimed Jia was with him and warned them against pursuing the case further. Rights activists say Riaz is believed to be based in Dubai and may have used social media to groom the teenager before her disappearance.

Soon afterward, police informed the family that Jia had converted to Islam and entered into an online nikah, or Islamic marriage, with Riaz on April 15. The marriage was reportedly registered through Union Council No. 65 in Kamoke.

The development shocked activists because Jia is still legally a minor under Punjab’s recently strengthened child marriage laws, which raised the minimum marriage age for girls to 18.

Yet on May 4, Jia appeared before a judge and declared that she was an adult who had married willingly. Her family was not present during the hearing, and activists allege that no meaningful age verification was conducted.

Two suspects who had briefly been detained in connection with the case were later released.

“There is no justice for the poor, especially for minorities,” Liaqat Masih said, his voice heavy with despair.

Albert Patras, a Christian rights activist assisting the family, described the legal process as deeply flawed and suggested Jia may have been under pressure when she testified. The family now plans to appeal to the Lahore High Court.

For many in Pakistan’s Christian and Hindu communities, Jia’s story feels painfully familiar.

Human rights organizations have documented hundreds of cases in which underage minority girls are allegedly abducted, converted to Islam, and married to Muslim men each year. In many instances, courts accept declarations of consent from the girls despite evidence suggesting coercion or proof that the victims are minors.

The controversy intensified recently after public backlash over the Federal Shariat Court’s ruling in the widely followed case of Maria Shahbaz, a 13-year-old Christian girl whose alleged forced conversion drew international condemnation.

Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. Advocacy groups and United Nations experts have repeatedly urged Pakistani authorities to enforce child protection laws more aggressively and ensure that minority girls are not exploited through forced religious conversion and marriage.

Meanwhile, Jia’s family continues to wait — clinging to the hope that their daughter may still return home before it is too late.

(Morning Star News/CDI, Open Doors, UN OHCHR, ICC, local Pakistani media)