Pakistani police have arrested a Muslim cleric and an associate after the families of two Christian men allege they were tortured and forced to convert to Islam, Evangelical Focus reports.

According to the report, on Jan. 22, 2024, two brothers, Azam and Nadeem Masih, were abducted at gunpoint and then beaten with iron rods until they recited the Kalima, which is the Islamic conversion creed.

The kidnappers, who threatened the men with death if they didn’t convert, then forced the brothers to state on video that their conversion to Islam was voluntary. The two men were then warned that they should not contact the police about what happened to them.

The two brothers came from a poor Christian family, and fearing for their lives, the family did not report the incident to police.

The news only came to light, when members of a Pakistani Christian organization, Movement for Christian Awakening, found out about what happened. They convinced the family to go to the police, stating that failure to do so, would only embolden the alleged kidnappers to target other Christians in the area.

The two men who were arrested and charged have been involved in attacks on Christians in the past. However, the Christian family has since gone into hiding because of the threats they received.

Forced Islamic conversions are common in Pakistan and often involve minor Christian girls, who are kidnapped by Muslim men, forced to convert, and then forcibly married to their kidnappers.