What changed

B100349/2026

B100346/2026

European Parliament resolution on the abduction, forced conversion and child marriage of Maria Shahbaz,Shahbaz and the protection of religious minorityminor girls in Pakistan

(2026/2801(RSP))

– having regard to Rule 150150(5) of its Rules of Procedure,Procedure

A. whereas Maria Shahbaz, a 13-year-old Christian girl from Lahore, disappeared in July 2025 and later appeared before Pakistani courts claiming to have voluntarily converted to Islam and married a 30-year-old Muslim man; whereas her family maintains that these statements were made under coercion; whereas earlier findings indicated that Maria Shahbaz’s marriage documents were falsified; whereas Pakistan's Federal Constitutional Court granted custody to the alleged abductor in February 2026, raising serious concerns among human rights organisations;

whereas in March 2026, Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court rejected a petition filed by the father of 13-year-old Maria Shahbaz, stating that his daughter was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam and married; whereas the court validated her conversion and marriage, allowing Maria Shahbaz to remain with her husband;

B. whereas Pakistan continues to face persistent reports of the abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of underage Christian and Hindu girls; whereas civil society organisations have documented hundreds of such cases in recent years;

whereas the Pakistani Government has formed a national consultative committee charged with reviewing the case and proposing measures against forced conversions and marriages;

C. whereas Punjab adopted the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act 2026 raising the minimum marriage age to eighteen; whereas effective implementation remains insufficient;

whereas poverty and marginalisation heighten women’s and girls’ risk of abduction, forced conversion and marriage, often accompanied by abuse, exploitation, stigma and trauma; whereas in 2025, roughly 75% of those affected were Hindu and 25% Christian, with almost 80% of cases in Sindh province;

D. whereas a Dutch woman and her friend were recently kidnapped, raped and extorted in Lahore; whereas Pakistani police arrested the grandson of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister as a perpetrator;

whereas the case of Maria Shahbaz is emblematic of broader challenges faced by minorities in Pakistan in accessing protection and justice; whereas human rights defenders play a crucial role in documenting violations and ensuring accountability; whereas reports of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and legal proceedings against them raise serious concerns;

E. whereas Pakistan benefits from GSP+ preferences, which are conditional upon the effective implementation of core international human rights conventions;

Expresses its strong concerns over the ruling on the case of Maria Shahbaz and its implications for girls affected by forced conversion and marriage;

1. Strongly condemns the abduction, forced conversion and child marriage of Maria Shahbaz and similar abuses against girls in Pakistan; condemns furthermore all acts of violence, Islamic coercion and discrimination directed against Pakistan’s religious minorities;

Calls on Pakistan to intensify efforts to eradicate forced conversions and marriages, to review legislative gaps, to effectively enforce applicable laws pertaining to child protection, human trafficking and sexual violence, and to improve judicial training on related standards;

2. Condemns the longstanding failure of the Pakistani authorities to effectively prevent, investigate and prosecute these crimes; calls on the Pakistani authorities to protect religious minorities from violence, intimidation, and Islamic coercion; calls for the immediate protection of Maria Shahbaz and for her to be immediately reunited with her family, a transparent review of her case and accountability for all those responsible;

Calls on Pakistan to ensure the safe return of abducted girls, and to provide comprehensive, inclusive and gender-responsive support for victims, including safe shelters, legal aid, psychological counselling and reintegration programmes;

3. Calls on Pakistan to effectively implement the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act 2026, eradicate child marriage, and provide effective protection and legal remedies for victims and their families;

Urges prompt, impartial and effective investigations into all allegations of forced conversions and marriages, and accountability for all actors involved;

4. Expresses deep concern that Pakistan's blasphemy laws continue to foster a climate of fear and facilitate abuses against religious minorities; calls for the abolition of blasphemy laws, including the death penalty;

Calls on Pakistan to take, and the EU to support, measures to address the root causes of forced conversion and marriage, such as gender inequality, poverty, social exclusion and discrimination based on caste, gender and religion, including by expanding access to education, birth registration and social protection;

5. Urges the judiciary to uphold due process and protect victims, witnesses, lawyers and judges from intimidation;

Expresses its strong concerns at the use of blasphemy, anti-terrorism and cybercrime laws to target minorities, opponents and civil society, as exemplified by the recent convictions of Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, and Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji; urges Pakistan to uphold the rule of law and the right to a fair trial, including by ensuring the right to appeal to independent and impartial courts; calls for an immediate end to arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances, including those of Dad Shah, Ali Wazir, Hanif Pashteen and Noor Ullah Tareen;

6. Condemns the serious institutional failures and crimes exposed by the UK’s inquiry reports, which found that numerous prominent grooming gangs were composed of men of Pakistani Muslim heritage; stresses that child protection must always prevail over political, cultural or religious sensitivities;

Calls on the EU to raise these issues in the framework of the EU-Pakistan GSP+ dialogue; recalls that failure to effectively implement its human rights commitments should result in the withdrawal of Pakistan’s GSP+ status;

7. Strongly condemns the brutal kidnapping, rape and extortion of the Dutch and Venezuelan women in Lahore; demands Pakistani authorities bring the perpetrators to justice and hold them to account with the full force of the law;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, and the Government and Parliament of Pakistan.

8. Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to closely assess Pakistan’s compliance with GSP+ conditionality, and consider if appropriate measures under the GSP framework should be taken given the continued serious and persistent violations;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the relevant parties.