U.S. Congress Members Advocate for Disappeared Christian Woman in Pakistan
Eleven members of the U.S. Congress, led by Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, have sent a letter to Pakistan’s Minister of Law and Justice, Azam Nazeer Tarar. The letter, dated August 20, requests intervention in the case of Neha Faqir, an 18-year-old Pakistani Christian woman believed to have been abducted and forcibly converted to Islam. Ms. Faqir disappeared on March 24 after leaving her home for a sewing course. Her family, with legal support from Christian Solidarity International (CSI), located her at a madrassa in Lahore, where she had reportedly been converted to Islam shortly after her disappearance, despite being illiterate and having no prior interest in changing her religion. A local court dismissed her family's petition for her return and prevented them from speaking with her during a June 9 hearing, where she appeared in Islamic dress accompanied by clerics. The congressional letter expresses serious concerns about the circumstances of her disappearance and whether she could communicate ... 
