On the abduction, forced conversion and child marriage of Maria Shahbaz, and the protection of religious minority girls in Pakistan

B100349/2026

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

(2026/2801(RSP))

– having regard to Rule 150 of its Rules of 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;

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;

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

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;

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

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;

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;

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;

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;

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

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;

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;

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.