A Pakistani Christian woman who is deaf and dumb and was abducted and forced to convert and marry a Muslim is facing death threats after she managed to escape and return to her family.
According to CLAAS, a charity that supports persecuted Christians in Pakistan, Asima Masih was abducted and forced to convert.
Her name was changed to Aysha. She was then married forcibly to her abductor, an influential neighbour of her parents who live in Sialkot, in the north-east of the Punjab province in Pakistan.
She is now back with her parents but according to CLAAS is being threatened if she does not return to her abductor.
Muslim clerics have issued a decree stating that Asima cannot live with her Christian family because she is no longer Christian, CLAAS said.
Asima's lawyer, Hafiz Ateeq ur Rehman, said he has petitioned for justice and an officer has been appointed to invetigate the case.
Her father Gulzar Masih is not wealthy and cannot afford to take on her abductor in court. He has himself come under pressure to return her to her abductor. His own son-in-law was even detained by the police but later released.
Christian Today reported earlier this month that Asima had been told by Islamic clerics that she could not return to her Christian parents because she had converted to Islam and married a Muslim.
