Adan Sabir, a 19-year-old Christian girl from Faisalabad, Pakistan, is living a nightmare that no young woman should ever have to face.  

Despite winning her legal freedom months ago, she and her family are currently in hiding, fleeing from a man who refuses to accept the law. 

The trouble began on July 3, 2025, when a man named Usman Ali allegedly kidnapped Sabir at gunpoint. This happened after she had already rejected his marriage proposal. To cover his tracks, Ali presented a forged marriage certificate in court, claiming Sabir had converted to Islam and married him of her own free will. 

During the first court hearing in August, Sabir remained silent. Her family explained that this wasn’t because she agreed, but because Ali had threatened to kill her parents and her brother if she spoke out against him. Because of that forced silence, the judge allowed Ali to take her home. 

The Sabir family refused to back down. They appealed to the Lahore High Court in September 2025. After looking at the evidence of threats and coercion, the High Court finally ordered Sabir to be returned to her family. By November 2025, the court accepted a divorce notice, and it seemed Sabir was finally safe. 

Unfortunately, the peace didn’t last.

Seeking Safety

After Sabir got engaged to a Christian man, Ali began a campaign of terror. On April 20, he allegedly fired gunshots at the family’s home in Jaranwala. 

Since then, the family has been moving from place to place every few days to stay alive. Sabir’s mother, Afasn Sabir, said the trauma is deep. 

“Adan stays silent all day, and at night she wakes up trembling and asks us to pray,” she said. “Usman keeps threatening us, saying that if he took her once, he can take her again, and this time he won’t let her escape.” 

The family is desperately looking for help. They want to file a case for cyber harassment because Ali is using digital means to track and threaten them, but they need protection and a proper police investigation to move forward. 

Forced conversion remains the most fundamental form of persecution for Christians in Pakistan. Since the Federal Constitutional Court decision in the Maria Shahbaz case this past April, there has been a sharp rise in these incidents. 

“We pray for the protection and safety of our Christian sisters and daughters,” an International Christian Concern (ICC) staffer said. “We pray for the resurrection of justice for the Sabir family and many others, a justice that brings life and peace back to those who are suffering in the shadows.“

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