This is not an isolated case, but already widespread in Muslim lands:
Lahore (AsiaNews) - After a Pakistani Christian girl from Lahore (Punjab) was abducted by a Muslim landowner, she was forced to marry him after conversion to Islam. Her family reacted in a public protest, demanding justice from civil authorities.
Police and the courts have failed so far to act and return the girl to her parents. The local Catholic Church has instead backed the family, condemning the "widespread practice" of kidnapping young Christian and Hindu women to marry them forcibly to Muslims and reduce them to a "state of slavery."
The latest episode involves a 16-year-old girl, Samariya Nadeem (Masih), who was abducted and forcibly married to a rich landowner. The abduction took place 22 days ago in Lahore's 270-TDA Layyah District when the young woman was on her way to school. The family filed a complaint (First Information Report 14/14, under Section 365 B of the Penal Code) with the police for the abduction reporting that Samariya was taken against her will and forced to marry the man.
So far, police have failed to pursue any legal action against the local wealthy Muslim landowner who abducted the girl because of the influence he wields. Police investigators were also unable to talk to the bruised and terrified victim. Anonymous police sources confirmed that the girl was "abducted" and forced to marry. However, an Islamic cleric involved in the affair said that it was "not illegal to abduct and convert non-Muslims."
There have organised protests seeking justice, and enforcement of the Pakistani laws forbidding marriage of minors without parental consent, to no avail. Perhaps it only applies to Muslim girls.
Kidnapping and forced marriage have become a major issue in Pakistan, especially in southern Punjab and in the interior of Sindh province. This is "very common in the region," said Fr Haroon James, a priest and activist in Lahore. Young women and girls "are forcefully converted and married to influential landlords who keep them as slaves."
Muslims make up 97% of Pakistan's population, and they are predominantly Sunni (80%). Christians and Hindu's are each less than 2% of the population, which would explain their lack of influence with any legal authorities. Violence against minorities is commonplace -- even against Shi'a Muslims, and the situation is deteriorating.