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In July 2025, the Christian community in Pakistan was shaken by the reported abduction and forced conversion of a 14-year-old boy named Shamraiz Masih from Sultan Town, Sargodha. Shamraiz, who had been working as an apprentice at a local motorcycle repair shop, suddenly disappeared on 21 July. His elder brother, Sahil, immediately filed a complaint with the local police, alleging that his younger brother had been kidnapped.

Days later, Shamraiz was brought before a magistrate, where he stated under Section 164 of Pakistan’s Criminal Procedure Code that he had “embraced Islam of his own free will.” The court accepted his statement as valid, despite Shamraiz being only 14 years old. His devastated family insisted that he had been manipulated, abused, and coerced into declaring a change of faith. According to relatives, his employer and others exerted intense psychological pressure, leaving the boy with no real freedom to choose.

The government, however, defended the process, declaring the conversion valid and arguing that the law had been followed. This position was met with outrage from human rights advocates, who argued that established legal precedent in Pakistan affirms that a child’s religion, until adulthood, remains that of their father. Shamraiz’s father, a Christian, had passed away only months earlier, making the case even more heartbreaking.

Christian leaders and lawyers pointed out that this situation highlights the urgent need for clear policies around the conversion of minors. Rights groups condemned the government’s stance, stressing that a boy of Shamraiz’s age lacks the maturity and legal standing to make such life-altering decisions. The case quickly gained national and international attention, sparking debate about freedom of religion, minority rights, and the exploitation of children in Pakistan.

Ripped Away

Since then, the tragedy has deepened. On 20 August 2025, the Lahore High Court delivered a devastating judgment, denying custody of Shamraiz to his mother, Rehana Imran. Despite being a widow who has faithfully raised her children since the death of her husband, Rehana was told by the court that Shamraiz could decide for himself where he wished to live. The decision effectively stripped her of her parental rights and validated the coerced testimony of a frightened teenager.

In tears, Rehana told sources, “They have stolen him from me in the name of religion.” Her anguish is shared by many in Pakistan’s Christian community, who see the ruling as both a personal injustice and a dangerous precedent. Rights groups argue that the verdict violates not only Pakistan’s own laws but also international obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Pakistan is a signatory. This convention requires courts to consider a child’s age and maturity when weighing their views, to act in the child’s best interests, and to uphold parental guidance in matters of faith.

The contradiction is stark: under Pakistani law, Shamraiz is clearly a minor. The Majority Act of 1875 and the Child Marriage Restraint Act both define adulthood as beginning at 18. Yet the court treated him as capable of making an independent and binding decision about religion and guardianship — a privilege denied to him in every other area of life.

Advocates warn that this ruling emboldens a broader pattern of abuse. Many Christian and Hindu children in Pakistan work in garages, carpet factories, brick kilns, and other trades due to poverty and lack of access to education. Such environments expose them to manipulation by employers and clerics who exploit vulnerability, lure them with promises of security, and present them to magistrates as converts acting under “free will.”

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