In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore confirmed reports of abductions involving girls as young as 14, acts he condemned as “a crime”.
His comments come amid research in Pakistan’s Punjab Province stating that up to 700 girls had been abducted in one year.
He said: “Yes, [abductions of under-age girls] are happening” and he added that “there have been many kidnappings recently”.
Archbishop Shaw added: “Kidnapping is a crime. It has to be treated as one. This is the only way to stop it. The girls are usually 14, 15. The men often already have one wife. They can be 25 or older. They can be younger, more like 20.”
He believed there was a religious aspect to the kidnappings, particularly as the girls are Hindu or Christian. Yet, the archbishop did not believe it was the only explanation.
“It is lust. They think ‘she is pretty and I want her’. It is a crime. But it has a possible religious component too.”
The archbishop said that in response to the increase in abductions, Christian leaders took the problem to the police “but they were not listening” so they went straight to the government.
“We raised it with the government and they took up the matter. Along with the Islamic council, they arranged a meeting with myself and leaders from the Muslim and Hindu communities.
“I…
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