A teenage girl who was abducted at gunpoint from her family home in Pakistan has escaped after nearly two years of abuse and captivity.

Fourteen-year-old Muskan Liaqat was kidnapped in May 2023 and subjected to physical and sexual abuse, forced religious conversion, and a sham marriage before fleeing her captors in June 2025, The Christian Post reported.

On the evening of May 24, 2023, Muskan was taken by armed men from her home in Muridke, a city in Pakistan’s Sheikhupura District. The abductors were identified as Muhammad Adnan and his father, Muhammad Arif. Muskan, a member of the Salvation Army Church, was just 14 years old at the time of the kidnapping.

Following her abduction, Muskan was brought to the home of her captors. There, her thumb impressions were forced onto several documents, which she later learned were used to declare her conversion to Islam and marriage to Adnan. As a Christian minor in a Muslim-majority country, her identity was stripped without consent.

According to her account, Muskan was raped and physically assaulted by Adnan nearly every day throughout her captivity. She stated that he beat her with an iron rod and used derogatory slurs against her faith. In 2024, she became pregnant due to the assaults but suffered a miscarriage in the fourth month, following more torture.

Psychological Trauma and Desperation in Captivity

Muskan said she often cried alone at night, praying for rescue. Her prolonged ordeal caused her immense psychological harm, leading her to attempt suicide by slashing her wrist. Fearing rejection from her family and believing they might think she left willingly, she lost hope in escape.

Her chance to reach out came on May 26, 2025. Muskan secretly contacted her elder sister, revealing her location and naming her captors. When Adnan and Arif learned Muskan’s family had initiated court action, they threatened to kill her and her relatives if she gave a truthful statement to authorities.

Out of fear, Muskan told the court during an earlier appearance that she had voluntarily converted and married Adnan. As she later explained, her statement was made under extreme pressure from her abductors.

Family's Legal Battle and Police Inaction

Katherine Sapna, executive director of Christians’ True Spirit (CTS), a rights group aiding Muskan, reported that the family’s original attempts to register a police complaint in 2023 were ignored. Left without official support, they had tried to locate Muskan on their own, with no success.

After Muskan’s phone call in May 2025, CTS filed a habeas corpus petition with the court, asking for her to be presented by police. Despite the court’s order, Muskan again appeared before a judge only to repeat a narrative favorable to her captors, a response CTS recognized as made under duress.

Shortly thereafter, in response to the latest legal efforts, Muskan was severely beaten again and suffered a fractured left arm. However, a major mistake by her captors gave her a last opportunity to flee.

Escape and Recovery at Safe House

On June 3, 2025, Muskan escaped from her captors’ home while Adnan was away and no one else was watching her. She was taken in by CTS, which moved her immediately to a secure safe house. The organization began providing her with urgent medical care, counseling, and legal support.

CTS confirmed they are pursuing legal charges against Adnan, his father, and any accomplices for kidnapping, sexual and physical violence, and forging religious and marital status records. Sapna emphasized that the organization is committed to seeing the perpetrators held accountable.

“It will take her time to heal and recover,” said Sapna. “But we have faith that the Lord will restore her fully.”

Broader Concerns for Minority Girls

Muskan’s story highlights wider issues for religious minorities in Pakistan. Christian and Hindu girls, some as young as 10, are frequently targeted for forced conversions through violence and sham marriages. Rights groups say that courts often ignore evidence of a girl’s age and return them to their abductors.

Sapna said that Muskan’s family is living in poverty, with her father unable to work due to illness since the abduction. CTS is also supporting the family financially as they recover from this prolonged trauma. The group said they will continue advocating for Muskan’s justice.

Pakistan, where nearly 96% of the population is Muslim, ranks No. 8 on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of countries where Christians face extreme persecution. Muskan’s case underscores the vulnerabilities that minority girls face in such an environment.