Islamabad, Feb 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) A Pakistani Christian brick kiln worker's forced conversion into Islam, recorded in the country's national database has prevented his five children from listing Christianity as their religion on their national identity cards.
"Sufyan Masih, employed at a kiln in Kasur district of Punjab Province, said that his father, Sadiq Masih, was coerced into converting to Islam years ago while struggling with a debt owed to a former employer," a report said on Sunday.
According to a report in the Christian Daily International, the conversion was later reflected in the records of Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), following which a second Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) was issued under the name "Muhammad Sadiq".
"Because my father is registered as a Muslim in NADRA, we have been told that we cannot register ourselves as Christians. We want our documents to show who we truly are, but we are not being allowed to," Christian Daily International quoted Sufyan as saying.
The report highlighted that the family's financial difficulties worsened about 15 years ago, when Sadiq Masih's wife Rasheeda became critically ill.
"My father took a 400,000 Pakistani rupees loan ($1,430) from his employer for her treatment and household expenses," Sufyan said.
According to the report, debt arrangements are widespread in Pakistan's brick kiln sector, with workers frequently depending on advances from kiln owners to cover basic costs between pay cycles.
Human rights advocates have consistently warned that such practices can leave workers "vulnerable to exploitation and coercion".
"We are poor people. When you take a loan, you become tied. The pressure was constant. My illiterate father was in a weak position," Sufyan added.
He also said that the mounting pressure led his father to convert to Islam and accept a Muslim identity in government records.
"This name was not his choice," Sufyan said, referring to the name of his father as Muhammad Sadiq on the CNIC.
"It was imposed on him because he was financially dependent. He did not change his faith in his heart."
Sufyan said the repercussions of the change have gone beyond his father as NADRA's system links children's registration records to their parents' data.
He also added that officials have informed his family that his children can only be registered as Muslims.
"We have been told that since our father is registered as a Muslim, we must also be registered as Muslims. But we are Christians. We have been raised as Christians. Why should we deny our faith just to get an identity card?" Sufyan asked.
The Masih family asserted that their sole demand is the reinstatement of Sadiq's original name and faith in the national database, and the ability for his children to be officially registered as Christians.
The report emphasised that Pakistan -- a country where more than 96 per cent of the population is Muslim -- was ranked eighth on Open Doors' 2026 World Watch List of nations where Christians endure the most severe persecution.
Source: IANS
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