A Pakistani judge has ruled two young girls from a Christian family who were reported kidnapped cannot be "restored to their family of origin' because they "converted" to Islam.

WND reported earlier when the kidnappers filed in court for custody of Saba Younis, 13, and Aneela Younis, 10, who were kidnapped on June 26 in the small town of Chowk Munda.

The father then was summoned by police to hear that the kidnappers had filed with the court for custody of the girls, alleging they had "converted" to Islam and the father no longer had jurisdiction over them.

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In fact, police initially refused even to file the kidnapping case sought by the father, Younis Masih. An earlier report from Compass Direct identified the alleged abductors as Muhammed Arif, Abjad Ali, taxi driver Muhammed Asraf and another fourth man. The report said they are known locally to belong to "a powerful human trafficking ring."

Now AsiaNews reports that District Judge Mian Muhammad Naeem has ruled the girls "have converted in a legitimate manner to Islam" so they cannot be sent back to their family.

He set aside a request from the father to regain custody of his daughters, admitting the "validity" of their marriage to two Muslims, according to AsiaNews.

The two children had gone to visit their uncle, Khalid Raheel, who reported the kidnapping and identified Muhammad Arif as an alleged kidnapper. AsiaNews said the girls then were "married" to two Muslims.

Khalid Raheel told AsiaNews the Muslims involved are acting as a "gang," recruiting girls in order to "make them work in a bordello."

The report said the Catholic commission for justice and peace also has expressed similar concerns. Naeem Asghar, the coordinator for the organization, told AsiaNews, such "marriages" are a pretense to take control of the girls and "exploit" them in the men's "business."

Khalil Tahir, a lawyer working with the Christian family, told Compass Direct it is possible the girls not only have been raped but sold to a brothel. He said under Pakistan law minors cannot be coerced into changing their faith, and he will press the issue.

"It is the duty of the [police] to register the case, but he's failing to perform his duty, so I'm trying to contact him or else I'll take it to the high court," he said.

The two children, the youngest of eight children in the family, were abducted while en route to visit their uncle, the report said.

"My Muslim countrymen think we [Christians] are not human beings. They think we do not have dignity," Masih said in a telephone conversation.

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