*Court Orders Age Determination in 13-Year-Old Amber Nadeem Case*
Major Development in Alleged Abduction, Forced Conversion and Child Marriage Case; Minor to Remain in Protective Police Custody
*By Mian Iftikhar Ahmad*
Faisalabad: In a significant development in the case involving the alleged abduction, forced conversion and child marriage of 13-year-old Christian girl Amber Nadeem, a local court has ordered an official age determination process while directing that the minor remain in police protective custody until the next hearing.
According to case details, Amber Nadeem was allegedly abducted by Mohsin Liaqat from a local market in Faisalabad on 12 June 2026. Following the incident, her mother, Nadia Nadeem, lodged First Information Report (FIR) No. 838/26 at Raza Abad Police Station under Section 365-B of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Following legal intervention by Voice for Justice, police recovered Amber and placed her in protective custody, while the alleged abductor was taken into custody.
During the court proceedings held on 27 June 2026, the alleged abductor’s family submitted documents claiming that Amber had embraced Islam and married Mohsin Liaqat. The marriage certificate presented before the court stated that Amber was 18 years of age.
Representing Amber’s parents, a legal team led by Advocate Malik Mehmood Hussain Awan, former President of the Bar Association, along with Advocate Sohail Shahid Gill, Advocate Faisal Anwar Bhatti of the Lahore High Court, local counsel from Faisalabad, social activist Aslam, Joseph Janssen, Chairperson of Voice for Justice, and Lala Robin Daniel strongly challenged the authenticity of the submitted documents.
The legal team presented Amber’s church-issued birth certificate and her parents’ marriage certificate before the court, establishing that Amber is only 13 years old. They argued that under the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act 2026, a minor cannot legally consent to marriage or religious conversion.
Counsel for the alleged abductor argued that Amber had accepted Islam and therefore could not be returned to her Christian parents. However, the parents’ legal team rejected this argument, maintaining that the central issue before the court is not religion, but the protection of a minor child and the enforcement of the rule of law.
During the proceedings before Judicial Magistrate Chaudhry Muhammad Asif, Amber told the court that members of the alleged abductor’s family had instructed her to falsely state that she was born in 2008. The court took serious notice of the contradiction between her statement and the documents submitted.
The court ordered that Amber remain in police protective custody and directed the authorities to complete an official age determination process. The next hearing in the case is expected on 30 June 2026.
Speaking after the hearing, Joseph Janssen, Chairperson of Voice for Justice, said that the case is not about religion but about child protection and the effective implementation of the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act 2026. He added that the proceedings would serve as a crucial test of whether Pakistan’s laws are capable of effectively protecting vulnerable minor girls.
Joseph Janssen and Lala Robin Daniel also called upon the Punjab Government to ensure the full implementation of child protection laws and to safeguard minority girls from abduction, forced conversion and child marriage.
