EU lawmakers push special envoy on Pakistan forced conversions ahead of appeal

Members of the European Parliament are urging Mairead McGuinness, the European Unionʼs special envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, to engage with Pakistan over forced religious conversions as the countryʼs Federal Constitutional Court is due to hear 13-year-old Maria Shahbazʼs appeal on Friday.

The calls follow growing concern over reports of the abduction, forced conversion, and marriage of girls from Pakistanʼs Christian and Hindu minority communities. In a resolution passed in the European Parliament on July 9, lawmakers called on Pakistan to investigate and prosecute those responsible, while urging the EU to continue raising the issue in its political dialogue with Islamabad.

Calls for special envoy engagement Speaking at a conference on forced marriage and religious conversions held at the European Parliament last week, Slovak member of the European Parliament Miriam Lexmann said she had recently met with McGuinness to discuss the issue.

“We urge her to see this as a big priority,” Lexmann said, adding that the envoy “has to make this a key priority for the coming months and coming years.”

Carmen Correas López, legal officer for Europe at ADF International, which…