LAHORE, Pakistan: A Christian farmworker who says he was trapped by debt, paid low wages and prevented from attending church has been freed following intervention by the Lahore High Court.

Maqsood Masih, a father of four from Village Varuan in Sheikhupura district, worked for a landowner identified as H. Gujjar for approximately 12 years. He alleges that threats and demands for repayment of a loan prevented him from leaving the job.

According to Maqsood, his duties included working in the fields and caring for livestock at the landowner’s farmhouse. His wife, Shahnaz Bibi, said he was expected to remain available around the clock, with little opportunity for rest or family life.

The family borrowed Rs200,000 to build a room on their own land about four years after Maqsood began working for Gujjar. Repayments were deducted from his salary, but Maqsood said that, after approximately eight years of deductions, the amount he was told he owed had increased rather than declined.

Maqsood reported receiving Rs12,000 a month. Shahnaz said his wages had subsequently risen to approximately Rs15,000, supplemented by one kilogram of milk daily and 40 kilograms of wheat each month.

The reported cash wages were substantially below the Rs40,000 monthly minimum wage announced by the Punjab government in September 2025. Whether that notification applies to his agricultural employment has not been established.

Maqsood said he faced restrictions on attending church, participating in prayers and religious ceremonies, and visiting relatives. On one occasion, when he attempted to attend a close relative’s funeral, people allegedly associated with the landowner followed him and told him to return to work.

He also alleged that he was required to continue working when ill. Although medicine was provided, he said he was not allowed adequate rest. Shahnaz described two periods of serious illness during which her husband was given insufficient time to recover.

The couple have two sons and two daughters. According to Shahnaz, the children helped her work in vegetable fields to meet the family’s basic needs. She said Maqsood’s visits home were interrupted by repeated calls pressuring him to return to work.

After unsuccessfully seeking help from other landowners and members of Gujjar’s family, Shahnaz approached The Edge Foundation on 25 September.

The organisation arranged free legal representation through Advocate Sohail Shahid Gill, who filed a petition seeking Maqsood’s production before the Lahore High Court on 28 September. The following day, Justice Sadiq Mahmud Khurram directed the relevant police officer to bring him before the court on 6 October.

Police produced Maqsood as directed. After he told the judge that he no longer wished to continue the employment, the court ordered his release.

Azhar S. Malik, director of The Edge Foundation, said debt-based exploitation was a recurring concern among the poor Christian families the organisation assisted.

“A loan taken to meet a basic family need can leave a worker trapped for years. When wages are deducted without a clear account of the debt, and threats prevent someone from leaving, the worker has little chance of escaping without help,” he said.

“Maqsood’s account raises serious concerns about his freedom of movement, his right to practise his faith and his ability to live with his family. No debt should be used to deny someone those freedoms.”

Malik said the Foundation had also helped secure the release of at least five other Christian workers and their families from alleged forced labour arrangements this year.

“Many of these families had little hope of freedom because they could not afford a lawyer and feared retaliation. Legal assistance can help them regain control of their lives, but disputed debts, wage deductions and threats also need proper investigation,” he said.

After the hearing, Maqsood and Shahnaz visited the Foundation’s office to thank the team for helping secure his release.