Illegal detention: Father of Jamia Hafsa student moves top court

Seeks safe return of his daughter Uzma Qayyum

ISLAMABAD: A father approached Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk for the possible recovery of his daughter from Jamia Hafsa following her illegal detention there since June 26, 2014.

Sheikh Muhammad Qayyum, a resident of Rawalpindi, has submitted a three-page application in the Supreme Court’s Human Rights Cell requesting to place his plea before the CJ for help in recover his daughter Uzma Qayyum.

His daughter was enrolled in a four year religious seminary named Jamia Binat-e-Ayesha located in Rawalpindi in 2010. On June 26 this year, Uzma went to Jamia Binaat-e-Ayesha in the morning but did not return home.



When he approached the administration of the religious school, they informed him that she had left for home after attending classes and they had no idea about her whereabouts. He then approached her friends, who informed him that after attending the classes, she had left for Jamia Hafsa, a religious school adjacent to the Lal Masjid.

“I was informed that she was accompanied by a woman named Umme Hassan, wife of Maulana Abdul Aziz,” says the application.

The applicant says that he visited Jamia Hafsa on June 17, where they met Uzma in presence of Umme Hassan. “Uzma started crying upon seeing us but did not say anything.

We told Umme Hassan that we wanted to take our daughter back home; however, she told us that she has been enrolled in Jamia Hafsa and that she has dedicated her life for the cause of Islam. We were surprised to hear this as Uzma had never disclosed any such intentions to us before.”

Afterwards, the applicant approached the lower court regarding the recovery of his daughter and Uzma was presented before the judge in his chamber. Later, reader of the judge informed the parents that Uzma had been sent to Jamia Hafsa over her statements.

“In the last six months, we have not been able to meet our daughter in person,” Qayyum said.

The applicant further said that when he started raising voice against alleged illegal detention of his daughter, he received several phone calls from Jamia Hafsa.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2014.