Sufyan Masih, a 24-year-old Christian brick kiln worker in Pakistan, has won a legal battle to have his religious identity correctly recognized. His employer had fraudulently registered him as a Muslim on his National Identity Card a few years ago, effectively trapping him in forced labor by withholding his wages and preventing him from returning to his family.
The employer falsely claimed to have “adopted” Masih as justification for the religious conversion on official records, said the legal advocacy group ADF International this week, adding that Masih and his family, who are illiterate, were unaware of the misrepresentation when the registration was made.
Masih’s case is part of a pattern of religious discrimination in Pakistan, where the National Identity Card system is often weaponized against minorities. Pakistani authorities generally refuse to allow individuals registered as Muslims to change their religious identity, based on the belief that everyone is born Muslim.
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Courts and officials have consistently denied such requests, except in cases where an error in records can be proven or when someone converts to Islam.
In a May 2024 ruling, civil judge Mian Usman Tariq rejected Masih’s petition to be recognized as Christian, citing Islamic teachings that regard all individuals as Muslim at birth. With no other option, Masih’s family sought legal assistance from ADF International.
On appeal, a civil judge finally ruled in his favor, recognizing that he had been a victim of fraudulent “conversion” and allowed him to restore his Christian identity on official documents.
The victory comes amid growing pressure from the European Union, which has warned Pakistan over its human rights record, including blasphemy laws, forced conversions and systematic targeting of religious minorities. Failure to address these issues could affect Pakistan’s trade relations with the EU.
Tehmina Arora, ADF International’s director of advocacy for Asia, welcomed the ruling, stating that Masih’s case demonstrates how Pakistan’s laws are used to target Christians.
“Pakistani authorities make it extremely difficult to ‘stop’ being a Muslim once you are designated as such,” she explained. “This presents a major problem for Christians like Sufyan when they are illegally converted to Islam on their identification documents, which is a pervasive problem and egregious violation of religious freedom. We are grateful for the precedent that is set by this victory, and hopeful that it will go on to protect Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan who are unjustly persecuted because of their faith.”
ADF International lawyers had first taken up Masih’s case in September 2022 after Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority repeatedly refused his requests to correct his religious identity and name.
During court proceedings, Masih’s legal team provided evidence, including his baptism certificate and brought his Christian parents to testify about his faith. Masih himself reaffirmed that he had never been a Muslim and had always practiced Christianity.
Despite this, a civil court initially ruled against him in May 2024, denying his request to be recognized as a Christian. ADF International then appealed the verdict in the court of Ahmad Saeed, an additional district judge in Pattoki.
In November 2024, Judge Saeed overturned the previous ruling, acknowledging that Masih had been fraudulently converted by his employer. Following this decision, Masih was finally able to update his National Identity Card to reflect his Christian faith.
Apostasy is not explicitly criminalized in Pakistan’s legal code, but it is considered a serious offense under Islamic jurisprudence and can be punished under blasphemy laws.
Section 295-A of Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes imposes up to two years’ imprisonment for “outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens.” Masih’s legal battle placed him at risk of being labeled an apostate, which could have led to accusations against him or his family under blasphemy laws, despite the fact that he was never a Muslim to begin with.
International law protects the right to choose and change one’s religion, and Pakistan is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees religious freedom.
Pakistan’s own Constitution, under Article 20, grants citizens the right to profess, practice, and propagate their religion.
