What changed

B100347/2026

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

(2026/2801(RSP))

– having regard to Rules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

having regard to ‘The Rape Gang Inquiry Report’, published in June 2026,

A. whereas Maria Shahbaz, a Christian girl from Lahore, was 13 when she was abducted and forced to convert to Islam and marry her abductor; whereas her family maintains that her statements were made under duress and coercion; whereas despite documentary evidence confirming her minority status and falsified marriage documents, in March 2026 Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court upheld her conversion and marriage and ordered her to remain with her abductor;

having regard to Rule 150 (5) of its Rules of Procedure,

B. whereas there is a persistent and well-documented pattern in Pakistan of abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of underage girls from Hindu, Christian and other religious minorities; whereas poverty and marginalisation heighten girls’ vulnerability;

A. whereas Maria Shahbaz, a 13-year-old Pakistani Christian girl, was abducted from her home in July 2025, then forcibly converted to Islam and married against her will to a 30-year-old Muslim man;

C. whereas the Pakistani Government recently proposed a national framework to end child marriage aimed at strengthening the protection of minors; whereas legislation against child marriage raising the minimum age of marriage to 18 years was adopted in some provinces, which, however, lack enforcement;

B. whereas on 25 March 2026, the Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan upheld the marriage, concluding that the conversion to Islam was voluntary and that the girl appeared to be an adult; whereas the court declared that Maria Shahbaz could legally remain with the man who abducted her and ruled that the marriage is governed by Islamic law;

1. Strongly condemns the abduction, forced conversion to Islam, child marriage and ruling in the case of Maria Shahbaz, and similar abuses of underage girls from religious minorities in Pakistan;

C. whereas abductions of girls across Pakistan are often tied to trafficking, rape, forced marriages and forced labour;

2. Calls on the Pakistani Government to ensure that all cases involving minors or allegations of coercion are investigated transparently and independently and to ensure the effective prosecution of perpetrators and safe return of abducted girls;

D. whereas for decades, organised grooming gangs have systematically sexually exploited at least 250,000 white British underage girls across the United Kingdom; whereas around 84 % of the perpetrators were Muslim men, predominantly of Pakistani heritage;

3. Calls on the Pakistani authorities to ensure the immediate protection of Maria Shahbaz, to grant her access to legal representation, independent psychological support and to her family, and to conduct a thorough, transparent and impartial review of her case, fulling respecting due process and the best interests of the child and allowing human rights organisations to independently monitor her situation;

E. whereas in mid-2026, German police established a specialised task force to dismantle a grooming network active around the Nürnberg Central Station, targeting German teenage girls, forcing them into the narcotics trade and sexual exploitation;

4. Urges the Pakistani judiciary to uphold the rule of law and ensure that any proceedings involving girls from minorities are conducted without external pressure, intimidation or coercion; emphasises the need for structured capacity-building within the judiciary in that regard;

Expresses its solidarity with the victims and families affected by forced marriages and conversions;

5. Welcomes the legislative steps taken in some provinces against child marriage and urges Pakistan to adopt and fully implement the national framework to end child marriage and to implement and enforce the provincial legislation; calls on other provinces to adopt and implement equivalent legislation;

Considers that the case of Maria Shahbaz is part of a continued and widespread pattern of abduction, forced conversion and marriage of girls from religious minority communities, particularly Christians and Hindus;

6. Encourages Pakistan to create a national mechanism for handling complaints from families of abducted or forcibly converted girls from minorities, and calls for comprehensive support for victims; calls for addressing the root causes of forced marriage and conversion and for targeted protection measures for girls from minorities facing discrimination, with particular attention paid to accessing education and social protection;

Considers that the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling not only represents a grave injustice in Maria Shahbaz’ case but that it also shapes a dangerous message, further encouraging and and legitimising abductions and child marriages and weakening protections for vulnerable minority girls across Pakistan;

7. Calls for the EU and the Member States to systematically raise the issue of forced conversions and marriages and the protection of religious minorities in bilateral dialogues with Pakistan, including within the framework of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus monitoring;

Calls on the Pakistani government to ensure the immediate and safe return of abducted girls to their families of origin and to prosecute those who use religious conversion for the crime of abduction;

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

Is concerned that the poor enforcement of existing laws creates widespread impunity; calls therefore, on the Pakistani government to ensure robust enforcement of child protection and anti-child-marriage laws, including legislative reforms aimed at raising the minimum marriage age;

Encourages the Pakistani government to enact judicial safeguards that prioritise verifiable age determination, free consent and protection from intimidation;

Emphasises that the child sexual exploitation scandal in the UK illustrates the danger that uncontrolled mass migration poses for women and girls in Europe; encourages the EU Member States to tackle the rise in sex crimes and criminal networks, to follow a ‘zero tolerance approach’ and to prioritise the expulsion of foreign national child offenders;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European External Action Service, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the President, government and parliament of Pakistan.