Forced Marriage: Girl allegedly abducted by boyfriend

HARIPUR: A girl was abducted by her alleged boyfriend in the revenue limits of Hattar village on Friday night. The accused abducted the girl for the sake of marrying by force, the complainant told police.

Hattar police quoted Muhammad Naeem Khan as saying that his sister Naveen Bibi, 17, was allegedly in love with Amir from the same village. Amir’s family had sent a proposal for Naveen, but her parents had rejected the match because the boy was not Pathan, the police said. Amir abducted the girl to marry her forcibly. He also took Rs500,000 cash from the girl’s home. The police have registered a criminal case against Amir under section 365- B of the Pakistan Penal Code, according to which whoever kidnaps or abducts any woman with the intention to fore her into marriage shall be punished with imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2012.