Justice Tariq Nadeem dismissed a petition filed by the Christian man who had requested the court to recover his daughter who he said was forcibly converted and married to a Muslim man.
The petitioner, Gulzar Masih, is a rickshaw driver from Faisalabad. He had told the court that his minor daughter named Chashman Kanwal was kidnapped by the accused, Muhammad Usman, and his accomplices.
According to the petition, the police managed to trace the girl, but did not grant her custody to her father, saying that she had embraced Islam and willingly married Usman.
Justice Nadeem remarked that the Supreme Court had earlier ruled that Article 20 of the Constitution gives rights to citizens to propagate their faith but that does not mean a person can be forcibly converted to another religion by coercion or inducement.
The judge was of the opinion that neither Holy Quran nor Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)'s saying determine minimum age for conversion to Islam.