A court in Pakistan returned custody of a 16-year-old Christian girl, Diya Iftikhar, to her parents on 25 October after a Muslim had kidnapped and forcibly converted and married her. Diya is pictured, third from left, with her parents and lawyers after her recovery. She and her family are members of a local Brethren church.
Judge Azhar Iqbal Ranjha granted the petition for recovery of custody filed by Diya’s mother, Shahida Iftikhar, after he recognised that Diya’s statement that she had converted and married of her own free will had been made under duress.
Diya was abducted from her home in a Punjab village (Chak No. 126-GB Sheroana in Jaranwala) on 12 September by local villager Ghazaal Jutt and his accomplices Afzal Jutt and Ramzan Jutt.
“Diya Iftikhar was targeted by Ghazaal Jutt because of his hatred against Jaranwala’s Christian community,” said Asher Sarfraz, chief executive of Christians True Spirit, which provided legal support to the family. “The girl was abducted against her will and coerced at gunpoint to record a statement claiming that her conversion to Islam and marriage to Jutt were voluntary.”
Asher Sarfraz told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, “It was clear that Diya was suffering from abuse and violence at the hands of her abductors… The judge noticed Diya’s fear and anxiety and ordered all persons present to vacate the courtroom so that the girl could freely record her statement. Once Diya felt secure, she told the court that she had been converted and married against her will and wished to return to her parents’ house. Hearing this, the court handed her custody to her parents.”
Police escorted Diya and her parents from the court because of fears that the suspect and his relatives would attack them.
“Diya is one of the few girls who gather the courage to expose their abductors in court, otherwise a majority of the victims are too intimidated and fearful to speak against their oppressors,” said Asher Sarfraz. “We also appreciate Judge Ranjha for making the courtroom safe for Diya so that she could speak freely. If other victims are also provided with a similar environment in courts, they too can return to their families without fear.”
Asher Sarfraz said his team was considering moving Diya to a safe house, explaining: “The accused lives in the same village, and it will not be safe for Diya to return to her home so soon. We are also very concerned about the psychological and physical trauma the child has suffered over a month-long ordeal, and we think she needs counsellor support.”
Shahida Iftikhar thanked Christians True Spirit for providing legal support and Christian Daily International-Morning Star News for raising awareness of her daughter’s ordeal. “My husband and I are truly grateful for the efforts made for Diya,” she said. “She is very happy to be back with her family. She has endured a lot of suffering, but we have faith that God’s grace will help her in recovering and leading a normal life again.”
Abduction, forced conversion and marriage of young girls is a serious problem for Christians in Pakistan, and also for Hindus. If a case comes to court the girl is pressurised to testify that she converted and married of her own free will – her abductor may be in the courtroom, along with an Islamist mob intimidating judges, lawyers and families. Judges often ignore documentary evidence that a girl is below the legal marriage age and hand her back to her abductor.
Abduction
Diya’s abduction took place on 12 September 2024 when she was at home with her four sisters, while their parents Shahida Iftikhar and Iftikhar Joseph attended a wedding. Neighbours said they saw three armed men (later identified as Ghazaal Jutt, Afzal Jutt and Ramzan Jutt) force Diya into a white Suzuki van, which sped away.
Shahida told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, “We were terrified because Ghazaal and his accomplices were involved in the August 16 2023 attacks on churches and homes in Jaranwala. They are notorious for their criminal activities, including sexual harassment of Christian girls.”
On 16 September the family received a WhatsApp video message from Diya in which she said she had voluntarily converted to Islam and married Ghazaal Jutt of her own free will.
“We knew Diya was coerced to record this false statement, because she detested Ghazaal,” said Shahida. “She had often complained to us that Ghazaal and his friends used to harass her when she went to her tuition centre.”
Delayed police response
Shahida said she and her husband had immediately filed a complaint with police, but officers delayed a day before registering a First Information Report. “Meanwhile, we also pleaded with local influential Muslims, including brick kiln owner Ashraf Jutt, who is related to the accused, for the recovery of our daughter but were unsuccessful,” she said.
After Diya’s parents repeatedly visited the police station, officers briefly detained Ghazaal Jutt’s father. “But this was just to show us that the police were making an effort to find Diya,” Shahida said. “They neither investigated him nor put pressure on him to help recover our daughter from his son’s illegal custody.”
Iftikhar Joseph told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that the investigating officer of the case, Sub-Inspector Abbas Gill, was not cooperating. “Despite pleading with the IO for Diya’s recovery, he is not taking any action against Ghazaal and his accomplices,” he said. “My wife and I work in local textile factories and do not have the money to pursue the case in court.”
He said the suspects were pressurising them to stop drop the case. “We will not stop until Diya is returned to us,” He said. “I’m also fearful for the security of my four younger daughters. If the abductors are not arrested and punished, it will put them and the other Christian girls of my village at serious risk of abduction. I beg the police authorities to protect us from these predators.”
Read more about abduction, forced conversion and marriage in Pakistan.
(Christian Daily International-Morning Star News)
Photo: Christians True Spirit via Christian Daily International-Morning Star News