Saneha Kinza Iqbal, a 15-year-old Christian girl, was abducted by Saeed Amanat, a 30-year-old Muslim man, on her way to church in Faisalabad, Pakistan.
The abduction reportedly took place on 22 July, however, Saneha’s family was only able to file a report with local police on 19 August because officers initially refused to cooperate with the Christian family.
Saneha’s family fears their daughter has been added to the extensive list of Christian girls who, after being abducted and forcibly converted to Islam, are forcibly married to Muslim men.
Saeed Amanat, Saneha’s abductor, is a security guard at the Allied Hospital in Faisalabad. On 2 June, Rukhsana Bibi, Saneha’s mother, injured her hip and was hospitalised at Allied Hospital. Saneha would often visit her mother at the hospital, allowing Amanat to meet and become familiar with Saneha.
On 22 July Saneha went to church for morning prayers but never returned. Her family asked neighbours if they had seen Saneha and some said she was seen in a car with strangers. Later, a neighbour confirmed that one of the men in the vehicle was Amanat.
Waseem Morris, Saneha’s brother, met with Amanat’s father in an attempt to have Saneha returned to the family. At first, Amanat’s father promised she would be returned, but several days later, Amanat’s father changed his mind.
After this refusal, Saneha’s family began receiving threatening phone calls. These phone calls, made by Amanat, threatened Saneha’s family if they made any attempts to have Saneha returned home.
According to a 2014 study by The Movement for Solidarity and Peace Pakistan, an estimated 1,000 women and girls from Pakistan’s Hindu and Christian community are abducted, forcefully married to their captor, and forcibly converted to Islam every year. The issue of religion is also often injected into cases of sexual assault to place religious minority victims at a disadvantage. Playing upon religious biases, perpetrators know they can cover up and justify their crimes by introducing an element of religion.
Sources: Asia News, International Christian Concern
- Intercede for Saneha and her family. Pray for favour as they deal with the authorities. Pray she will soon be restored to her family.
- Pray that, in the meantime, the Lord would protect and preserve them and give them His peace and strength.
- Pray the authorities in Pakistan will do more to protect Christian girls from kidnappers and will pursue justice for affected families. Ask the Lord to soften the heart of Amanat.
Post your prayer in the comments below.
Lord Yeshua we commit this young christian girl to you. Lord please return Saneha to her family and please not allow this marriage to this Muslim man to go through. Lord be with her family as they go through this ordeal , and be their source of strength and peace,Lord show Amanat the truth about you, so he may become a christian too. Lord you can perform these miracles, because you are a miracle working God and nothing is impossible for you.
Amen Lord. Amen. Have mercy Father, please have mercy!
For I know the thoughts that I think towards you (Saneha), says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
Great word of the Lord, Janet. Thank you for the verse. We pray for your mercy to be upon them father, in the precious name of Jesus.
Blessed Lord Jesus, you are the defender of the helpless, the widowed and orphaned, the dispossessed and lonely. Please draw near to this young girl Saneha and help her by your Holy Spirit to know your grace and mercy to help in time of need. We ask that every effort to bring Saneha’s release and the truth to light gather momentum and see success and all to your glory. May the perpetrators of this crime come to see your majesty and the perfection of your sacrifice for sin come to a point of deep repentance and faith in You.