LAHORE, Pakistan — A Muslim man in Pakistan who twice kidnapped a Christian mom additionally raped her, fraudulently transformed her to Islam and fabricated an Islamic marriage earlier than she managed to flee, sources mentioned.
The suspect, Muhammad Asif Sadiq, remains to be threatening her husband, demanding that he return his “spouse” and withdraw all costs towards him, mentioned Asif Maih, the husband of the 37-year-old mom of three youngsters.
Masih of Pattoki Tehsil in Kasur District, Punjab Province, mentioned that when his spouse was first kidnapped on Jan. 11, he assumed she had gone with Sadiq willingly.
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“Nonetheless, when Sadiq claimed that she had modified her religion and married him, I instantly knew that it was a lie as a result of she was a religious Christian and couldn’t surrender Christ even when her life was at stake,” Masih advised Christian Every day Worldwide-Morning Star Information. “She was clearly deceived by Sadiq, who used the false conversion certificates and marriage to discourage efforts to get better her.”
His spouse, whose title is withheld as a rape sufferer, mentioned Sadiq works as a safety guard on the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), the place she works as a cleaner. She mentioned Sadiq had satisfied her to go together with him to enroll in a authorities plan for monetary assist.
“I had no clue about his actual intentions and trusted his supply for help,” the member of the Full Gospel Assemblies Church advised Christian Every day Worldwide-Morning Star Information.
She mentioned Sadiq took her to an unknown location to fill out kinds and fraudulently obtained her thumb impression on paperwork.
“I’m not literate, so I had no concept that he had obtained my thumbprints to arrange false non secular conversion and marriage certificates,” she mentioned. “He then forcibly took me to his home, the place his spouse and two youngsters had been additionally current. He locked me in a room the place I used to be stored hostage for eight days.”
Her husband and family obtained a neighborhood council of elders often known as a Panchayat to drive Sadiq to launch her to her household, she mentioned.
“He additionally assured the council that he would nullify the pretend marriage on the situation that my household doesn’t take the matter to the police,” she mentioned.
Along with her husband struggling most cancers and now not capable of work as a rickshaw driver, she resumed her job at UVAS with a purpose to feed their household. She earns 28,000 rupees ($101 USD) per thirty days, with which she barely manages to feed the household and look after her sick husband.
“I attempted my finest to keep away from Sadiq on the college and even modified my shifts and place of responsibility to stop any contact with him,” she mentioned.
On Feb. 14, as she was leaving work, Sadiq and two unidentified accomplices arrived in a automobile and kidnapped her at gunpoint, she mentioned, including that they took her to the Shahkot space of Nankana Sahib District, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Pattoki.
“Sadiq held me hostage in a relative’s home and repeatedly tortured and raped me at gunpoint for 3 days,” she mentioned.
Throughout the first abduction, she added, Sadiq had not sexually assaulted her.
On Feb. 17 she discovered an opportunity to flee and returned dwelling to her household.
“I had no cash with me and begged passersby to present me some in order that I might board a bus to Pattoki,” she mentioned. “I used to be traumatized by the assaults, however the hope of seeing my husband and kids once more gave me the energy to succeed in my household.”
Masih filed a police grievance towards Sadiq the identical night she returned. Police registered a First Info Report (FIR) towards Sadiq on Feb. 19, however a delay in motion enabled him to acquire pre-arrest bail.
“We should not have the cash to bribe the police, due to which they didn’t make any honest effort to arrest the accused,” Masih lamented.
Christian legal professional Sumera Shafique helped get his spouse’s assertion recorded in courtroom and facilitated a medical examination on March 4.
“It is because of her help that the case has picked up tempo, in any other case the police weren’t cooperating with us,” Masih advised Christian Every day Worldwide-Morning Star Information of the legal professional’s efforts.
Shafique expressed hope that the suspect’s interim bail can be rejected and he can be arrested following outcomes of the medical report, which confirmed that Masih’s spouse had been sexually assaulted.
“The police have registered a FIR below Part 496-A which pertains to engaging or detaining with felony intent a lady to have illicit intercourse and is punishable by as much as seven years imprisonment,” Shafique mentioned. “Nonetheless, after her assertion in courtroom detailing how she was kidnapped, forcibly transformed after which subjected to rape, we’ll now search the addition of all related sections, together with rape, within the FIR towards Sadiq.”
Part 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code prescribes a uniform punishment of rape: loss of life or imprisonment for a minimal time period of 10 years and most time period of 25 years, with a effective.
Pakistan is ranked No. 8 on Open Doorways’ 2025 World Watch Listing of nations the place it’s most tough to reside as a Christian.
This text was initially revealed at Christian Every day Worldwide–Morning Star Information
