Lahore High Court has ordered the reopening of a police case against a Muslim man accused of abducting, forcibly converting and marrying Christian girl Maria Shahbaz. The court admitted a petition from Maria’s family seeking restoration of the case against Shehryar Ahmad, giving them another route to pursue criminal proceedings. The family says Maria was abducted in July 2025, converted to Islam, and forced into marriage. Although Maria initially told a magistrate she was an adult and had acted voluntarily, her relatives cite official records indicating she was born in October 2012. A subsequent police reinvestigation reportedly concluded that she was twelve when she was abducted, that the marriage certificate was forged, and that her conversion certificate could not be verified. An earlier court ruling had placed Maria in Ahmad’s custody. Her family is challenging that decision, arguing that the new evidence demonstrates she was a minor and could not legally consent to the marriage.