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Confronting Religious Persecution at the IRF Summit

Feb. 10Stories That Demand Action:

Last week I spoke on a panel at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C.—a global gathering that brings together advocates, policymakers, and legal experts from around the world who are on the front lines of defending religious freedom. The Summit provides a rare forum to share firsthand experiences, expose ongoing...More

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Persecuted Pakistani Christians

We just helped secure a small victory for a seven-year-old Christian girl who was sexually abused by a Muslim neighbor in Pakistan. Despite immense pressure being put on the family to drop charges, the abuser was denied bail and will face trial.

A few weeks ago, Abid Masih, a Christian electrician in Lahore, contacted our international affiliate, the Organization for Legal Aid (OLA), seeking legal assistance. He informed our team that his daughter, whom we will call V to preserve her identity, was sexually abused by a shopkeeper in his neighborhood.

On April 23, 2025, the girl’s mom sent her to a shop on the street where they live to fetch detergent. When V came back, her mother noticed that V seemed disturbed. She said, “You look scared. Are you okay?” V said that when she went to “Uncle” Riaz’s shop, he asked her to go inside the shop, and he put his hand in her pants. When another customer came to the shop, Riaz attended to the customer, and V ran away. 

V’s mother called her husband, Abid, and told him what had happened. Abid called the police and lodged a complaint with them. The police took Abid’s statement and arrested Muhammad Riaz, a 49-year-old man. This, however, was not the end of the difficulties V’s family would face. Soon after Riaz’s arrest, people from the area began approaching Abid, urging him to withdraw his complaint and “forgive” Riaz, which is allowed under Pakistani law.

As the only Christian family in the neighborhood, Abid’s family was now being harassed by local politicians and neighbors for pursuing the case against Riaz. Abid wisely decided to contact our team and seek legal assistance.

Because Riaz had filed for bail, we immediately began preparing to contest it. This week, the court heard arguments from both sides and, thankfully, denied bail.

Following these events, Abid, his wife, and their three children (V and her two younger siblings) came to the OLA’s office in Lahore and requested assistance in relocating from their rental house to a Christian area where they would not be harassed or pressured to stop pursuing the case. Our team in Pakistan is currently assisting them in relocating to a safer location.

We have also been told that this was not the first time Riaz had sexually abused a child. There have been other complaints against him, but no one has gone to the police. We are encouraged by Abid and his wife’s courage to speak up for their daughter in an environment where they could easily be threatened into withdrawing the complaint. Our team has assured them that we will stand with them and continue to seek justice.

In Pakistan, the victims in criminal cases are allowed to have a lawyer represent them alongside the prosecution. In effect, the victim’s lawyer acts as a prosecutor. We have represented abused children in similar cases before and have been successful in obtaining justice for them.

In January of this year, for example, we won an appeal in a case in which a man was sentenced to life in prison for raping a nine-year-old girl. We won the case at trial, and in January, after hearing arguments, the High Court upheld his conviction.

We hope that V and her family will receive justice and Riaz will face the punishment he deserves.

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Signatures

Shaheryar Gill  //

Feb 10, 2026

Last week I spoke on a panel at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C.—a global gathering that brings together advocates, policymakers, and legal experts from around the world who...

Shaheryar Gill  //

Jan 27, 2026

We recently informed you about V, a seven-year-old girl, who was sexually abused by a Muslim neighbor in Pakistan. We have been working on a similar, and even more horrific, case in which two Christian women...

Shaheryar Gill  //

Jan 21, 2026

Today I want to bring you an important update on another critical case involving a vulnerable seven-year-old Christian girl , to whom we will refer as “V” to protect her identity. V was sexually abused by a...