US Lawmakers Demand Pakistan Protect Forcibly Converted Christian Woman

A bipartisan group of 11 US lawmakers, led by Representative Chris Smith, is demanding that the government of Pakistan protect the safety and fundamental rights of Neha Faqir, an 18-year-old Christian woman. In an August 20 letter to Pakistan's Minister for Law and Justice, Azam Nazeer Tarar, the lawmakers requested that Faqir be granted private communication with her family and access to independent legal counsel.

Faqir disappeared on March 24, 2026, from Kot Radha Kishan in Punjab's Kasur District after attending a sewing course. She was later traced to an Islamic seminary and a government shelter in Lahore, where she had been converted to Islam. During a June 9 hearing at the Lahore High Court, Faqir appeared accompanied by Islamic clerics. The court subsequently rejected a petition from her family seeking her return and denied their request to speak with her privately.

Representative Smith stated that the circumstances of the disappearance and conversion raise troubling questions regarding coercion and intimidation. The case has drawn international attention through hearings in London and the UK House of Lords. Advocacy groups, including Christian Solidarity Worldwide and the Jubilee Campaign, characterize Faqir's situation as part of a broader pattern of abductions and forced conversions of minority girls in Punjab Province.