On 8 July 2026, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the abduction, forced conversion and child marriage of 13-year-old Christian girl Maria Shahbaz in Pakistan, and calling for stronger protections for girls from religious minorities. The resolution demands that Pakistan ensure transparent investigations, prosecute perpetrators, and secure the safe return of abducted girls, while urging the EU and its Member States to prioritise the issue in bilateral dialogues.
The resolution responds to the case of Maria Shahbaz, a Christian girl from Lahore who was abducted, forced to convert to Islam and marry her abductor. In March 2026, Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court upheld the conversion and marriage, ordering her to stay with her abductor. Parliament strongly condemns this case and similar abuses against underage girls from Hindu, Christian and other religious minorities in Pakistan. The resolution demands immediate protection for Maria Shahbaz, including access to legal representation, independent psychological support, family contact, and an impartial case review with independent monitoring by human rights organisations. It also urges the Pakistani judiciary to uphold the rule of law without external pressure or intimidation, with structured capacity-building.
Parliament welcomes provincial legislation raising the minimum marriage age to 18, but notes the lack of enforcement, and urges Pakistan to adopt and fully implement a national framework to end child marriage. It encourages a national complaint mechanism for families of abducted or forcibly converted girls, and targeted protection measures including education and social protection. The resolution calls on the EU and Member States to raise forced conversions, forced marriages and religious minority protection in bilateral dialogues with Pakistan, including under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus monitoring. The resolution impacts the Pakistani government and judiciary, the EU and its Member States, and victims of such abuses, with trade-offs between Pakistan's sovereignty and international human rights standards, and between trade preferences and human rights conditionality.