After signing nikahnama at gunpoint, defiance in court

Eighteen-year-old Rida Nasir was allegedly kidnapped on January 18.

SUKKUR: The young woman walked into court prepared to lie because she was scared for her parents’ life, but when she saw her mother and father sitting there, she found the courage to stand up against her kidnapper.

Rida Nasir, who was allegedly kidnapped from her house in Rohri on January 18, finally returned home on Thursday night. She was presented before the Sindh High Court’s Larkana circuit bench, earlier that day. She recorded her statement and chose to go with her parents.

On Thursday, Rida and her alleged kidnapper Jehanzaib Shahani appeared before the division bench. Shahani claimed that they were married, said the petitioner’s lawyer, Zubair Ahmed Rajput. Rida’s parents were also present in the courtroom.

Shahani produced the nikahnama (marriage certificate) before the court, saying that they were married on January 10, 2011, not realising that the very certificate he had brought was actually issued on January 22.

The lawyer argued that Rida was kidnapped at gunpoint from her house on January 18 so it was impossible for them to have married earlier on January 10. He alleged that the certificate was fake and had been prepared after an FIR was lodged on January 19. The girl should be allowed to meet her parents, Rajput said.

The bench, comprising Justice Ahmed Ali Shaikh and Justice Salman Hamid, allowed her to meet her parents for an hour, the lawyer told The Express Tribune.

After Rida met her parents, she recorded a statement before the court, saying that on January 18, she was kidnapped at gunpoint by Shahani and his accomplices. According to the lawyer, Rida also told the court that the kidnappers had forced her to sign the nikahnama and had warned her that if she went to court against them, they would kill her parents. The court then allowed Rida to go with her parents and ordered the Larkana DPO to provide her and her parents protection.

Rajput requested the court to direct the police to arrest the kidnapper but the court turned down his request. He said that the Rohri DSP Mushtaq Shah and Rohri SHO Tahir Mughal were also present in court and could not arrest the kidnapper due to the court’s order.

The Larkana and Rohri police escorted the girl and her parents to their home.

Talking to The Express Tribune at her house, Rida said that her kidnappers took her to Larkana and kept her at an undisclosed place. “Yesterday he took me to Larkana court and when I saw my parents there, I felt strong enough to record the statement against him,” the tired young woman said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2011.