March 27, 2026
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
Human rights lawyers and defenders, in particular those from religious minority groups, have strongly condemned the recent judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) of Pakistan, which upheld the validity of a marriage involving a minor Christian girl, Maria Shahbaz, and dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by her father. They termed the ruling a missed opportunity to protect vulnerable individuals, warning that it risks deepening inequality and reinforcing a climate of impunity.
The activists demanded accountability of all actors involved in conversion and marriage-related cases, strengthening procedural safeguards to verify age, consent, and free will; and upholding constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and equality before the law. They also announced their intention to challenge the verdict through appeal.
On Saturday, March 27, a press conference was held at the Lahore Press Club, organized by the Rawadari Tehreek, a minority rights organization.
Representatives of civil society, human rights defenders, political activists, and minority leaders expressed concerns and outrage on the Constitutional Court’s verdict in the Maria Shahbaz case, a minor Christian girl.
It was discussed during the conference how the court has validated the marriage of Maria Shahbaz to a Muslim man, citing Islamic law, despite Pakistan’s Child Marriage Restraint Act setting varying minimum ages for girls across provinces (18 years through Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Ordinance 2026, Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013, Baluchistan Child Marriage Restraint Act 2025 and Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Act 2025.
Chairman of the Rawadari Tehreek, Samson Salamat, strongly criticized the decision, saying that it undermines efforts to protect minors from premature unions, which harm their physical, emotional, and educational well-being, terming the court’s ruling as misleading which highlights the inconsistencies in Pakistan’s laws and their implementation.
The press conference highlighted the alarming implications of this verdict for girls belonging to religious minority communities, in particular Christian and Hindu girls, who are disproportionately affected by forced conversions and child marriages.
“This decision will embolden perpetrators to exploit vulnerable girls, forcing them into marriages and conversions, and erasing their identities,” warned Salamat.
The gathering emphasized that the verdict violates Pakistan’s commitments under the Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC) and demanded a review to ensure women’s welfare and clarify ambiguities in the law.
They urged the government to take immediate action to protect minority girls and review the verdict to safeguard their safety and well-being. The Press Conference demanded that a review of the FCC verdict should be tabled as soon as possible, protection through legislation must be given to minority girls from forced conversions. They also demanded a clarification of inconsistencies in Pakistan’s laws regarding child marriage, and ensuring of an effective implementation of Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Ordinance 2026, Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013, Baluchistan Child Marriage Restraint Act 2025 and Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Act 2025. In addition it was demanded that there should be proper legislation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for raising the minimum age of marriage to 18 years for both boys and girls to save children from child marriages.
The Implementation of the UNCRC as per international obligations and commitments must be ensured.
Minority collective condemns court decision
Meanwhile, Islamabad based collective Minority Rights March also expressed its anger at the Order.
“Maria is a victim of the crimes of abduction and child marriage, and may also be perpetually exposed to other heinous offences by her abductor,” said a statement by the collective. “The FCC not only refused to restore custody of the victim to her father, but failed to rescue the minor victim by legalizing her cohabitation with her abductor under the garb of a ‘nikah’ which itself entails penal consequences under the Child Marriage Restraint laws. The FCC has held that while child marriage is a crime, the nikah itself is valid – such a proposition is not only astoundingly self-contradictory and unprecedented, but is tantamount to attaching redundancy to the intent of the legislature and defeating the very purpose of the Child Marriage Restraint laws. The FCC has failed to consider that the age old notion of “puberty” being the sole benchmark for a valid marriage has been done away with by judicial preponderance by the Federal Shariat Court in 2012, in cases which emphasize on “legal capacity (Rushd)” for a valid marriage while upholding the Child Marriage Restraint laws.”
Human rights defenders said that the FCC had further ratified the alleged conversion of the Christian minor child, while not taking note that the alleged conversion is not out of love and understanding of the religion Islam but solely to perpetuate a crime – a conversion which has been deemed involuntary, and to not be considered for legal purposes.”
Case Background
On 29 July 2025, Maria Shahbaz, a 13-year-old Christian girl, was abducted in Lahore and subsequently subjected to forced conversion and coerced marriage. A re-investigation conducted on the directions of the Sessions Court found that the marriage certificate was fabricated, with the relevant Union Council confirming the absence of any official record. The Deputy Superintendent of Police restored the FIR and added further charges. Despite this, the FCC awarded custody of the girl to her captor husband, effectively validating the marriage. This decision disregards documentary evidence of her age, including her birth registration issued by NADRA, as well as applicable legal protections under the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act and relevant High Court jurisprudence.
Judgement based on old orders
The collective also stated that the FCC has based its verdict largely on observations made decades earlier in a series of Orders passed in different cases all reproducing and relying solely on the observations made in these 3 judgments without paying any heed to the legislation.
“By placing reliance on these judgments, the FCC has lost sight, and failed to at least consider let alone judicially adjudicate applicability, of the legislation in field today,” said the statement.
They said that the laws that should apply today include Section 292-A PPC (seduction of a child), Section 328-A PPC (cruelty to a child), Section 375/376 PPC (statutory rape with a child with or without consent when child is under 16 years of age), Section 377-A/B (sexual abuse with a child with or without consent when child is under 18 years of age), and Section 498-B PPC (prohibition of forced marriage [proviso equates child marriage to forced marriage]).”
These laws were not in field when the above mentioned judgments were passed and were hence never considered by the court.
“The FCC has further failed to appreciate that the consent of a minor girl child under the age of 16 is immaterial to absolve the abductor in terms of S. 361 PPC (kidnapping from lawful guardianship) and a victim of this crime cannot be allowed to remain in the custody of her abductor.”
The collective argued that there was a plethora of jurisprudence on the contrary, in all of which it was unanimously held that in cases of child marriage consent of the victim to accompany and cohabit with the accused was immaterial. “The only decision which the court has to make is to decide whether to hand over custody of the victim child to the parents or commit her to State Child Protection Units in the event there is imminent threat to the victim child by the parents as well.”
‘Free hand given to perpetrators’
Minority rights activists said that it was alarming that the highest judicial forum of Pakistan had passed a verdict in blatant ignorance of laws and jurisprudence, which has emboldened and paved a way for miscreants to abduct minor girls of religious minority groups and then perpetuate statutory rape, sexual abuse and various other heinous crimes under the garb of a Nikkahnama.
“This verdict defeats the responsibility of the State laden by Article 36 of the Constitution to protect religious minorities, and emboldens criminal elements seeking to perpetuate forced conversion of faith through the crimes of abduction, child seduction and child marriage,” said the statement. “We take serious exception to this illegal verdict and call upon the Attorney General of Pakistan and other relevant quarters to file a review at the earliest, and call upon the Provincial Legislatures to amend their Child Marriage Restraint Laws to the likeness of Section 7 the Balochistan Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025, which declares Nikah in child marriage to be void, putting an end to absurd interpretations.”
The collective also called upon the Prosecutor General of Pakistan to proceed in accordance with the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act, 2004 and all other applicable laws to forthwith recover Maria Shahbaz from the custody of the accused and prosecute the miscreants in accordance with law since this verdict has neither quashed criminal proceedings nor decided age of the victim or facts of the crime.
They requested journalists and news agencies to be responsible in their reporting and not write off a minor child as a “woman”, and not portray this illegal verdict as a license for conversion of faith and child marriage.
Minority activists condemn situation
Joseph Jansen, Chairperson of Voice for Justice, raised grave concerns regarding the Court’s reliance on unverified claims of religious conversion and its acceptance of minimal evidentiary standards. He warned that such reasoning risks legitimizing coercion, manipulation, and abuse, particularly in cases involving minority girls.
“Such verdicts undermine protections for minority communities and discourage victims and families from seeking legal remedies,” he said. “Flawed investigations and weak prosecutions contribute to systemic discrimination and miscarriage of justice, fostering a perception of selective application of the law. We urge the Pakistani authorities to enact and implement comprehensive legislation criminalizing forced religious conversions as a distinct offense.”
Advocate Rana Abdul Hameed emphasized that the judgment lowers the threshold for validating conversions and marriages in contested circumstances, ignoring the structural vulnerabilities faced by minority girls. He noted that courts must apply the highest standards of scrutiny, especially in cases involving potential coercion.
Advocate Akmal Bhatti observed that the ruling raises serious concerns about due process and the adequacy of safeguards against forced conversions and child marriages. The lack of independent verification of age and consent reflects significant procedural gaps. This judgment raises profound concerns about the protection of minority rights and the rule of law in Pakistan. Immediate corrective measures are essential to restore public confidence and safeguard the rights of vulnerable communities, he added.
Human rights defender, Aneel Edger stressed that consent cannot be presumed in environments shaped by coercion, intimidation, and social pressure. They called upon the judiciary to adopt a victim-centered and rights-based approach, ensuring that justice is both done and seen to be done.
A human rights activist, Rukhsana Zafar noted that such cases must not be treated in isolation, as they reflect broader systemic failures to protect vulnerable communities. She added that the fear of abduction and forced conversion continues to restrict women’s mobility and access to education within minority communities.