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On March 25, 2026, the Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan made a controversial decision to support a marriage of 13-year-old Maria Shahbaz (also known as Maria Bibi) to a Muslim man of approximately 30-40 years of age (reported). The two-judge court conference held that Maria was of prevailing age, that her change to Islam is authentic, and that she was lawfully in the custody of her spouse as per the Sharia laws where Muslim men are permitted to engage in marriage with women of Ahl al-Kitab (People of the Book, such as Christians).

Her father, Shahbaz Masih, lodged a habeas corpus petition claiming that Maria had been kidnapped on July 29, 2025; forcibly converted; and forced into a marriage against her will. The family gave her birth certificate indicating that she was a minor, though the court was said to have used NADRA records of a potential age gap and dismissed claims of abduction.

The move has evoked a wide backlash among Christians, human rights organizations, and civil societies in some cities such as Karachi and Lahore. The opponents complain that the decision ignores the Child Marriage Restraint laws in Pakistan (which establish a minimum at age 18) and creates a harmful precedent where forced conversions and marriages of minor girls of religious minorities can be ignored. It has been denounced by church leaders and advocacy groups as a breaking of the commitment to safeguard vulnerable children, and it was also extensively judged, focusing on constitutional and Islamic values, by the court. Child rights and minority measures in Pakistan have remained contentious with regard to the case.