A 14 year old Christian girl has been condemned by a court in Pakistan to remain with the man who abducted her, married her, and forcibly converted her to Islam.

Lahore High Court Judge, Raja Muhammad Shahid Abbasi, overturned a District Court ruling which ordered that Maira Shahbaz be removed from her abductor, Mohamad Nakash’s, house and placed in a women and girl’s refuge, pending further investigations.

Family friend and advocate Lala Robin Daniel said: “With this ruling, no Christian girl in Pakistan is safe.”

Lawyer Khalil Tahir Sandhu, who represented Maira in court, called the decision “unbelievable”.

In the courtroom, Mr Tahir Sandhu detailed 11 arguments in support of his client, chief of which involves an official birth certificate showing Maira was only 13 last October, the month of her alleged marriage to Mr Nakash.

Mr Tahir Sandhu also argued that the marriage certificate was faked, citing evidence denouncing the document given by the Muslim cleric whose name appears on the document.

Mr Tahir Sadhu said: “I became so upset as the proceedings went on, I feared I might be asked to leave the court room.”

The lawyer said he would appeal the decision, first at Lahore High Court and, if this fails, in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.