Christian couple say daughter kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam

HARIPUR: A Christian couple on Wednesday alleged that their underage daughter was allegedly kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam before solemnizing her a marriage in Shah Mansoor town of the Swabi district.

According to a video statement and a written complaint that was shared with newsmen, Noreen Maseeh and her husband Francis Maseeh, residents of Mubeen Banda of Ghazi Tehsil of the Haripur district, said that their daughter Princy was a student of 9th class in a local school and was 14.They said August 3 night, Princy was in her bedroom and preparing for her paper scheduled for next morning when she went missing at around 12.45 am.

The couple alleged that they had the proof that Zulqarnain, son of Zahid Iqbal from the same locality, with the abetment of the son of a local Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Akhtar Shah, had kidnapped their daughter.

The couple said that after the alleged kidnapping of the daughter, they approached the PTI’s leader Akhtar Shah for her recovery as they claimed Shah’s son was also involved in the kidnapping.

However, the parents claimed that despite promising to bring back their daughter within a couple of days, the PTI’s leader instead told them that she had contracted court marriage with Zulqarnain in Swabi district after converting to Islam.

The couple shared with media persons Nadra’s registration certificate of children below 18 years, proving that the Christian girl was born on January 10, 2007 and she was still minor and not medically and legally fit for marriage under the Pakistani laws.

The couple accused the Ghazi police of not registering the first information report (FIR) and instead of discouraging her to stop pursuing the case as their daughter had converted to Islam before contracting the court marriage.

The complainant sought the protection of her family and community’s relatives who were extending her help in pursuing her daughter’s alleged kidnapping case.

Meanwhile, when contacted the Ghazi police officials said that the girl had tied the knot in the Shah Mansoor town of Swabi and as per documents available with the police she was 17 years old and had converted to Islam before solemnizing marriage with Zulqarnain Zahid in a court.

The police said that the Christian family had just informed the police about their daughter’s disappearance and had not charged anyone directly for the kidnapping.

Police alleged that the affected family members were contracted but they failed to turn up at the police station for filing a proper complaint that would lead to the registration of the FIR.