Pakistani Christian Family Seeks Justice After Teen Son’s Alleged Forced Conversion

The Christian parents of a 15-year-old boy in Pakistan’s Punjab province are pleading for authorities to return their son following allegations that he was pressured into converting to Islam while working at a factory.

Sagar Masih took the job to help support his low-income family. His parents allege that co-workers encouraged him to abandon Christianity, participate in Islamic prayers and accept Islam, sometimes offering rewards as an inducement.

According to the U.K.-based Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement, or CLAAS-UK, the factory recorded the teenager’s name as “Sagar Muhammad,” although his legal name is Sagar Masih.

“We only want our child,” his father, Babar, said in a statement shared by the Christian advocacy organization. “We want our son returned to us and kept safe.”

After Sagar disappeared, relatives reportedly searched for several days before discovering video footage showing him with Muslim clerics and other individuals. The family then approached police, requesting his return and seeking answers about the circumstances surrounding the alleged conversion.

Police reportedly informed the parents that Sagar had become Muslim and that the dispute would have to be resolved through the courts. The family claims the teenager initially told officers that he wanted to return home but was subsequently pressured to remain separated from his relatives.

CLAAS-UK Director Nasir Saeed urged officials to treat Sagar first as a child in need of protection, regardless of religious claims.

“Religious freedom must genuinely be free,” Saeed said, warning that coercion, threats, inducements or exploitation of poverty cannot constitute legitimate conversion.

The organization is calling for an independent inquiry, formal confirmation of Sagar’s age and an impartial interview conducted away from individuals who may influence him. It also wants safeguards established to protect his welfare throughout any legal proceedings.

The allegations emerge amid wider concerns about Pakistan’s Christian minority. Open Doors ranked Pakistan eighth on its 2026 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution.

For believers worldwide, Sagar’s case is an urgent call to prayer, and a reminder that governments must defend children, preserve family bonds and ensure that every profession of faith is made without fear or force.

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