Snatched away: Newly-wed bride kidnapped from court

Woman married her husband after he converted to Islam

LAHORE: A girl, who married out of love, was abducted by her family members from the court premises where she had come with her husband to record a statement.

Tariq recently embraced Islam and took Suleman as his name because he wanted to marry a Muslim girl.

The couple married in secret and eloped but the girl’s family registered a kidnappingcase against Suleman under Section 376 of the PPC.

Later, the family of the bride told Suleman that they wanted to compromise with him and said they would permit their daughter to tie the knot in a traditional Muslim manner.

The husband, who was going to court to record his wife’s statement recorded before a judge, set a time in the morning to meet the family. However, when the two sides came face to face, the family members abducted the girl.

They threatened both of them with dire consequences if anyone dared to raise a hue and cry.

Eyewitnesses said Suleman showed some resistance but the other side managed to escape from the spot with his wife. The man reached district and sessions court to get bail in the kidnapping case and his plea was granted.

Suleman had a Christian wife who left him after she came to know that he embraced Islam to marry a second wife.

The man also had children from his first marriage. Once his parents came to know of the decision, they also expelled him from the house.

The first wife and parents said they would only allow him back into the house if he converted back to Christianity.

A close friend of Suleman said the man was in a desperate state as his first wife left him and his second was abducted. To top it all off, his parents also banished him from home.

However, Suleman told The Express Tribune that he was happy with his decision to embrace Islam. At the same time, he was sorry that he lost his Muslim wife as wells as the first wife and most of all his parents.

The man was optimistic that his wife would return and said he was doing his best to pacify his annoyed parents.

He confirmed that his parents and first wife asked him to convert back to Christianity if he wanted to continue living in the house.

He said the relatives of his Muslim wife were issuing death threats, but he was adamant to file a case against them for kidnapping her.

He alleged the family was also threatening him with killing his second wife.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2017.