by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – A Christian widow in Pakistan’s Punjab province is devastated after her married daughter went missing, while elsewhere in the region, a mother of four and a mother of six have also disappeared following alleged abductions by Muslim men, Worthy News learned Saturday.

The cases are among at least five reported disappearances of married Christian women in Punjab within a month, allegedly linked to forced marriages and conversions to Islam. Rights advocates say the growing number of incidents underscores the vulnerability of Pakistan’s impoverished Christian minority.

In Gujranwala, brick kiln laborer Aslam Masih said his wife — mother of four children — was abducted on October 28 by Muhammad Waris, vanishing without a trace. A disturbing video later surfaced on platform TikTok, in which a man mockingly asked Aslam: “Is she with me to do whatever you wanted?”

In Lahore’s Gujjumatta district, Salamat Masih, father of six, reported his wife missing on November 2, saying she was last seen with a local man identified as Muhammad Shani Dogar. Neighbors said Salamat, a daily wage worker, is now struggling to care for the couple’s six children alone.

COMMUNITY LEADERS SOUND THE ALARM

“These are not isolated incidents,” said Sardar Mushtaq Gill, founder of LEAD Ministries, which advocates for persecuted Christians. “Christian married women are being targeted, possibly for forced conversions and marriages. This is the fifth such case this month alone.”

LEAD Ministries and local church leaders say the victims often come from poor backgrounds, especially among bonded laborers in Punjab’s brick kiln communities, making them highly susceptible to manipulation and abuse.

Pastor Imran Amanat, also of LEAD Ministries, urged Christians worldwide to pray for the missing women and their families. “Our community is hurting deeply,” he said. “We must strengthen our faith and ensure Christian women understand the dangers they face in a society where they are vulnerable to exploitation.”

Human rights organizations have long accused Pakistani authorities of failing to protect minority women. According to advocacy group Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List, Pakistan — a Muslim-majority nation — ranks 7th among the world’s most dangerous countries for Christians, primarily due to abductions, forced conversions, blasphemy accusations, and systemic discrimination in education, employment, and the justice system.

A MINORITY UNDER PRESSURE

Investigators say Christian girls and women are frequently abducted, forced to convert to Islam, and married to Muslim men — often with police refusing to intervene. Advocacy groups estimate that hundreds of such cases occur annually, though few ever reach the courts or result in convictions.

As investigations continue, families like those of Aslam and Salamat Masih wait anxiously for news. “Each night my children ask when their mother will return,” Aslam said in comments shared with Worthy News. “I have no answer.”

For Pakistan’s roughly 1.6 percent Christian minority — in a Muslim nation of more than 245 million people, the world’s fifth most populous country — these disappearances represent part of a broader struggle for safety, dignity, and justice in a nation where they suggest faith too often determines one’s fate.

Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.

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