Gender Justice, Rescue, Rehabilitation Missions, Rescuing Girls

We Save another Christian Girl Shama Nazir

12- Sept,2013 Lahore  : Once again our brave team saves one more Christian girl from the Clutches of her abductors. Thanks to our Lord who is using us to save and protect the Christian community in Pakistan.

On August 22, 2013, three Pakistani Muslim men – Umar Saghar, Muhammad Kashif and Shahid Nazir  abducted Shama Nasir, a 15-year-old who is the second child of Nasir Masih.

A few days before this incident occurred, these three men visited Nasir Masih and asked him to embrace Islam, which he refused instantly. Then, on August 22, while  Nasir Masih was at work, they entered the house and beat his wife and children before kidnapping Shama.

That night, Nasir Masih  along with some local Christians went to the police station to register a complaint against Umar Saghar, Muhammad Kashif and Shahid Nazir. However, instead of taking their application, the police stated that his daughter Shama had embraced Islam and was married to Umar Saghar. The police humiliated Nasir Masih and other Christians, threatening to put them in jail if they came back.

Nasir Masih went to several Christian NGOs and churches to help him to rescue his daughter, but no help was provided. Soon thereafter, Nasir Masih contacted our team  through one of the previous victims we had helped. On September 9, we investigated the matter. We engaged with some of the influential Muslims through our lawyers to help us rescue the young girl. After two days of meetings with Muslim clerics and influential persons, we were able to rescue Shama Nasir from Umar Saghar.

Initially, Umar Saghar refused to hand Shama over, stating that “she is his wife now and he will not return her.” Some of the Muslim clerics who backed Umar also stated that “she is Muslim now and you cannot take her back.” However, our team and a Muslim friend pressured Umar and Muslim cleric Qari Aslam to bring the girl to the meeting and to ask her if she accepts being a Muslim and remaining the wife of Umar. Then this matter would immediately be finished.

On the evening of the September 11 ,as soon as Shama saw her father she began shouting, requesting her rescue from Umar, saying that “she did not accept Islam and that Umar had forcibly put her thumb print on various papers.” Shama also said – in front of everyone – that “I want to go with my father.”

Our lawyer warned Umar that if he would come after the minor girl again then he would take serious action against him. He furtherly  told Umer ,that we will conduct Shama ‘s  medical checkup and if she was sexually assaulted then we will also file a case of abduction and rape. As Umar and his companions left, they made threats against all of us. Then after we immediately  moved Shama and her father to Lahore City for their protection from Umar and his companions.

Today, we have sent Shama for a medical and DNA report. We have also filed the application in the Court for registering a FIR (criminal complaint) against Umar and his associates. However, according to Shama, she stated that Umar raped and tortured her many times. We hope that this minor Christian girl will get justice.

By Farrukh Saif

Farrukh Saif is a Pakistani human rights activist based in Germany. He founded his own organization, the Farrukh Saif Foundation (FSF), in 2009 with the goal of supporting marginalized and oppressed minorities in Pakistan who are affected by religious discrimination, blasphemy laws, forced conversions, abductions, rape, and bonded slavery. The main focus of the FSF is on the liberation of bonded laborers, particularly those working in brick kilns in rural areas of Pakistan. In 2018, the FSF merged with the US-based Emergency Committee to Save the Persecuted and Enslaved. Throughout his career, Farrukh has been a leading voice for the rights of minorities in Pakistan and has gained international attention for his campaigns against the misuse of blasphemy laws and the belief that asylum is not a crime. In 2014, he played a key role in the release of hundreds of asylum seekers from Thai jails and has worked with his legal team to save numerous victims of strict blasphemy laws in Pakistan. Farrukh has also been invited by the Hungarian government to discuss his work and the issues he addresses. In addition to his work with the FSF, Farrukh has also been involved in various other humanitarian efforts, including providing health care services to internally displaced persons in Khayber Pakhtoon Khawa in 2009 and assisting flood victims in Sindh and Punjab in 2010. He has worked to aid victimized minorities in Pakistan and has a strong track record of successfully advocating for their rights. Farrukh joined forces with Keith Davies in 2018 to co-found the Emergency Committee to Save The Persecuted and Enslaved, and since 2009, they have collectively successfully rescued more than 36000 individuals from slavery and persecution.