A 14-year-old Christian boy from Sultan Town, Sargodha, who was reported missing earlier this month, has reappeared—claiming he converted to Islam of his own free will. However, his family says the boy, Shamraiz Masih, was manipulated and coerced into conversion by his employer and others, raising serious legal and ethical concerns about the treatment of minors from religious minorities.

Shamraiz, who worked as an apprentice at a local motorcycle repair workshop, disappeared days before he was brought before a magistrate and recorded a statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, stating he had embraced Islam voluntarily. His elder brother, Sahil Masih, had earlier filed a missing person’s report with the Urban Area Police Station, alleging abduction.

The family rejects the official narrative, insisting the boy is under pressure and undue influence. They claim that Shamraiz had previously complained of mistreatment at the workshop, and believe he was beaten and threatened before being coerced into declaring conversion.

The case sparked intense debate in the Punjab Assembly, where Christian MPAs including Phailbus, Ather Julius, and Tariq Gill raised urgent concerns. They demanded clear legislation on the religious conversion of minors. In response, Parliamentary Secretary Chaudhry Amer Habib defended the conversion, claiming all procedures had been followed and asserting the minor’s conversion was legal. His remarks drew condemnation from rights groups and legal observers, who argue that children under 18 cannot give informed consent to religious change.

According to the family, Shamraiz’s father, now deceased, was a Christian, and they maintain that the child’s religious identity must remain unchanged until he reaches adulthood.

The Edge Foundation, a rights-based legal aid group, is now representing the family. The organization is providing legal support and has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court to challenge the validity of the conversion and seek the boy’s return.

The case highlights growing concerns over the lack of clear legal standards for religious conversion involving minors in Pakistan. Activists warn that the absence of age-related protections continues to expose children from minority communities to exploitation and coercion.

As Shamraiz’s family waits for the court’s ruling, they have made a clear appeal: that justice be served, and that the rights of a grieving Christian mother and her child not be ignored under the guise of procedural formality.