Elishba Adnan, 14, was taken from her home by a 26-year-old Muslim, Babar Mukhtar. This is according to Albert Patras, a rights activist based in the Vehari district of Punjab province. Police have informed Patras that Elishba has converted to Islam and married the elderly man of her own free will.
Elishba's father, Masih Adnan, a cleaner with the Burewala Tehsil Municipality, immediately reported the matter to the Burewala police.
“But to date, the police have not registered a First Information Report [FIR], delaying police efforts to get the child back to the parents and compounding the family's distress,” Patras told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
He says that the poor Christian father has repeatedly visited the police and begged them to get his daughter back, but without success.
Masih Adnan says he believes Mukhtar took Elishba while she was visiting her uncle. “Mukhtar was an acquaintance of my elder brother and often visited his house. We don't know if he manipulated my child or blackmailed her to go with him. Nevertheless, it is an abduction because my daughter is a minor and she could easily have been influenced by this much older man.”
Read also: Christians in Pakistan are vulnerable
The Christian independent schools that the Danish European Mission works with in Pakistan are familiar with this challenge. Samuel from the Danish European Mission tells us about his recent visit to Pakistan: “A few months ago, one of the schools we work with experienced a very young girl being manipulated by an older man who made her a number of promises, including that she would get an expensive cell phone and her own house if she married him. Unfortunately, such airy promises can resonate with girls who grow up in poor Christian families. This is why it is so important that vulnerable children from the poor Christian minority receive schooling so that they mature and are educated to be able to recognize such manipulation, and are equipped to do better financially in life than their poor parents.”
