The Ghost of Alleged Forced Marriages and Religious Conversion of Religious Minorities in Pakistan
For several years in Pakistan, it has been claimed that girls from religious minorities, especially Christian and Hindu girls, are abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and then married off to Muslim men. This claim has been presented in reports by numerous human rights organizations and has received significant international attention. However, no comprehensive and balanced journalistic investigation had been conducted on this important issue until now. To fill this gap, a long and in-depth journalistic investigation was carried out, focusing on the industrial city of Faisalabad in Pakistan. This investigation was conducted from April 2023 to April 2026 and included a detailed review of the registered cases of fifty Christian and fifty-five Muslim families. The methodology of the research was kept extremely comprehensive and scientific.
First, the registered cases were reviewed, and then meetings were held with the fathers of the girls in all these families and their registered reports were studied meticulously. After that, meetings were held with the fathers of the boys involved in the same cases and their stance was also recorded. Then the scope of the research was further expanded, and visits were made to the educational institutions of these girls, such as colleges and schools, where their female friends and the friends of the boys were met and they were also heard. After this long and labor-intensive investigation, the truth that emerged is extremely surprising.
In total, out of these one hundred and five families, no evidence of forced marriage was found in any single case. In every case, it was found that there was a prior consensual relationship between the girl and the boy, and they had married of their own free will. These were the very same marriages for which the parents had registered cases of abduction and theft, and the minority side had alleged forced conversion. The investigation also revealed the surprising fact that the parents of runaway girls from Muslim families had also registered cases of the exact same nature.
Along with the allegations of abduction in these cases, allegations of stealing household items, jewelry, and cash from the home were also included. This made it clear that parents register false cases of abduction to bring back their daughters who have run away to marry of their own will, and this trend is not limited to Christian families but is found equally in Muslim families. The only difference is that Christian parents have an additional weapon: the allegation of forced conversion, which gives their report international importance, while Muslim parents can only allege abduction or theft. This is the fundamental truth that human rights organizations have completely ignored in their reports. These organizations have never conducted such a comprehensive and balanced investigation that includes the statements of both parties and the testimonies of witnesses. Now we examine the methodology of human rights organizations to understand how strong the basis of their reports is.
The usual practice of human rights organizations is that they only meet the girl’s father and, without any evidence, accept his one-sided complaint as truth and make it part of their report. They do not consider it necessary to meet the boy’s father because they believe the boy’s family is powerful and meeting them would be of no benefit. They also do not consider it necessary to go to colleges and universities and talk to the girl’s friends or the boy’s friends. This is the reason why their reports present only one party’s perspective while the other party is never heard. If this same methodology is applied to cases of girls from Muslim families, the same result would emerge because
Muslim parents also register false cases of abduction to bring back their runaway daughters, but human rights organizations completely ignore this similar issue because their agenda is limited only to minority girls. The question is, why do these organizations do this? The primary reason is that their entire existence depends on a specific agenda. They receive international funding only on the condition that they present negative reports against Muslim countries, especially Pakistan. The narrative of forced marriages and forced conversion is extremely useful for them because through it they can obtain funding and build their identity on an international level. If any organization reports that the problem of forced marriages in Pakistan is very minor or that most reports are false, it will not receive funding the next year. This is why these organizations have no interest in the truth; rather, they want to continue their agenda, and for this agenda, it is necessary to keep the ghost of forced marriages alive. This is not new; many human rights organizations around the world exaggerate in their reports to obtain funding, and a long series of such reports against Pakistan has been ongoing.
We also need to see what the role of the Government of Pakistan itself is in this matter, because government statistics are also based on these same one-sided parental reports. Government organizations like the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, when they release statistics, also rely on the same complaints whose true nature has never been verified by going into the field. No government agency conducts a complete and balanced investigation like this journalistic investigation. The government also provides the same data it receives in the form of parental reports, but it does not take the trouble to test this data against the truth. This is why the actual situation is one thing and the situation being presented is another. This is where the role of the judiciary also comes in, because when these cases go to courts, the judiciary also often appears confused. In some recent examples, courts have even rejected NADRA’s official birth certificates and have relied on uncertain methods like ossification tests to determine a girl’s age, while on the other hand, courts have also said that anything can happen in this country and tampering with official documents is also possible. This situation has become more complicated because neither the government, nor the judiciary, nor human rights organizations are taking any serious steps to rectify this issue. Now we examine what the actual motives behind all these reports and claims are. Is there really a big problem of forced marriages with minority girls in Pakistan, or is this just a fabricated story being promoted under specific interests? Our research has made it clear that while not a single case of forced marriage was found in one hundred and five families, human rights organizations claim thousands of such marriages every year.
This discrepancy is so large that it cannot be ignored. The results of this research prove that either human rights organizations are deliberately spreading false information, or they are using an extremely unscientific methodology that has no connection with reality. In either case, this is a serious problem because based on these reports, attempts have been made to impose sanctions on Pakistan at the international level, and Pakistan’s image is continuously being damaged. Consider this:
if these reports are false, then what agenda is at play behind them?
Is this part of Islamophobia? Is this an international conspiracy to portray Pakistan as an unsafe country?
Or is this just a means to obtain funding?
The truth is probably a combination of all three. Islamophobia is a reality on a global scale in which Muslims and their countries are portrayed as the center of all evil. In this same context, Pakistan is also portrayed as a country where minority girls are forcibly converted to Islam, while the reality is something else. Similarly, the element of funding is also important. Many organizations obtain millions of dollars in funding thanks to these very reports, and if these reports stop, their very existence would be in danger.
Therefore, regardless of the truth, they continue their reports. Now we look at another aspect of this issue that has never been discussed: the number of Christians who convert their religion to obtain a divorce. Obtaining a divorce in Christianity is very difficult, and some lawyers also advise their clients to convert their religion to get a divorce. After that, that boy or girl becomes a Muslim and can easily obtain a divorce or perform a new marriage. This is also a truth, but no research has ever been done on this. There are also no statistics on how many such cases exist province-wise in Pakistan. The reason for this is not that no research has ever been done on this topic, nor has any human rights organization made it part of its report. Just as one-sided parental reports regarding forced marriages are accepted without any investigation; similarly, the cases of those converting for divorce are ignored because this does not fit the narrative that only minority girls are being forcibly converted to Islam.
The truth is that the process of religious conversion can happen both ways. Some people become Muslims, and some Muslims can also become Christians, but human rights organizations are only interested in conversion in one direction.
This is another double standard that belies their claim of being impartial. Now we come to the important question: if a journalist or researcher wants to conduct merit-based research like this, can they get any funding? The answer to this question is no. No major funder wants to fund merit-based research like ours. There are several reasons for this.
The first reason is that the funders’ agenda is predetermined. Organizations like the International Development Research Centre have funded projects worth millions of dollars to work against child and forced marriages in Pakistan.
These projects are based on the assumption that forced marriages are a serious problem that needs to be eliminated. If a researcher goes and proves that 99 percent of these marriages are not forced but consensual, and that parents are registering false cases, it would destroy the very foundation of their entire project. No funder would fund research that would destroy their own existence.
The second reason is that relying on one-sided parental reports is very cheap and easy. You don’t need to go into the field for it. You just accept one party’s word and then present the same statistics that fit your agenda. Whereas what we did was very expensive and time-consuming. Reaching one hundred and five families, meeting both parties, going to educational institutions and talking to friends, all this requires a great deal of effort and resources. No funder would want to spend such a large amount of money on research whose outcome would be against their interests. The third reason is that international funders are not interested in bottom-up research.
They want large, top-down projects. A big budget, a big team, and a big report that matches their agenda. A journalist like us going into the field and gathering facts does not fit into their model. Small organizations like the Peace Foundation and fellowships like those from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan offer some scope for independent research, but their resources are very limited. The Peace Foundation has collected just over one thousand dollars on GlobalGiving, while the HRCP fellowship is approximately two hundred and fifty thousand rupees, which is not enough for such in-depth research on one hundred and five families. This is why research like ours is not being done in the field, nor is it being supported by any funder.
This is a very bitter truth that while millions of dollars are being spent on false reports, there is no funding for research that reaches the truth. Due to lack of funds, or rather no funds, we could not take this research further, nor could we obtain proper offices and space. Frequent changes of location also resulted in the loss of many related papers. Finally, we review the overall results of this research. This research has made it clear that out of one hundred and five families in Faisalabad, there was not a single case of forced marriage. All marriages were consensual. Parents had registered false cases. The girls also gave statements in court that they married of their own free will, and the case was closed. Parents from both Muslim and Christian families had registered similar false cases. The only difference was that Christian parents had also included the allegation of forced conversion.
Human rights organizations have never conducted such a comprehensive investigation. Their methodology is one-sided and unscientific. They only meet the girl’s father and prepare a report. They do not meet the boy’s father. They do not meet friends. Their goal is not to reach the truth, but to obtain funding and defame Pakistan. Government statistics are also based on these same parental reports and have no real validity. The judiciary is also caught in this confusion and sometimes even rejects official documents. All this has created a system where false reports are promoted and the truth is suppressed. As far as funding is concerned, no major funder wants to fund merit-based research because it puts their entire agenda at risk. This is why independent journalists are needed who go into the field, record the truth, and expose this double standard.
If such comprehensive investigations are conducted in all districts, it is possible that only a few cases of forced marriages might be found in a few districts, and all other reports would prove baseless. But no one is ready to do this because it would put the entire system of human rights organizations and their funding at risk. The need is for the Government of Pakistan itself to come forward in this matter and conduct an independent and complete investigation of all these allegations so that the truth can be uncovered and false propaganda can be ended. Until then, journalists like us will continue to bring this truth to light. This report is a part of those efforts, and hopefully it will reach those who can bring change in this matter.
The truth is that the ghost of forced marriages and forced religious conversion that has been created in Pakistan is mostly an illusion, behind which are financial interests and specific agendas. It needs to be understood, and it needs to be uncovered. This report is an important step in that direction.
