Neha Faqir

Extra Bio Info:

Neha Faqir was subjected to forced renunciation of faith.

In March 2026, Neha Faqir, an illiterate teenage Christian girl, was abducted in Punjab province, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to her abductor. Neha had disappeared after attending a sewing school that was operated by the wives of her abductor. In rapid succession, Faqir was converted, married, renamed “Ayesha,” and hidden in a madrassa.

Police authorities repeatedly obstructed her family’s attempt to locate her by initially refusing to file a missing person report and assigning the investigation to the wrong jurisdiction. Authorities told Faqir’s family that she had converted to Islam of her own free will “after doing her research on the issue,” despite being illiterate and showing no prior interest in converting. A court order for her recovery was issued. 

In June 2026, Judge Muhammad Tariq Nadeem of the Lahore High Court dismissed Faqir’s family’s petition to return her to her family. During court proceedings, the judge prohibited her from speaking with her parents and made no effort to assess whether she had been coerced or was under duress.