The price for love: Death threats for runaway couple
Groom’s family moves the court to seek police protection against the bride’s family.
RAWALPINDI:
Father of a newly married man moved the court on Thursday for police protection after the bride’s family threatened to kill them.
Muhammad Zareen, filed a writ petition before a trial court in Rawalpindi and sought police protection against death threats from the bride’s family. He made Masood Imran, father of the bride, and Nadeem Akhtar, Station House Officer (SHO) Westridge Police Station, respondents in the case.
The counsel for the defence, Farzana Iqbal, said that Uzma Masood and Ahsan Zaheer, who live in Qasimabad Rawalpindi, contracted a love marriage in court on April 26. This happened after Uzma’s parents declined Zaheer’s marriage proposal.
He added that the petitioner’s family were not involved in arranging the marriage as they never permitted their son to marry without her parents’ permission.
The petitioner’s family also tried to register a complaint with the Westridge police, but the SHO refused to take action against the bride’s family stating it “a family matter”.
“After police’s refusal to take action against, the family had no option but to knock at the court’s door,”’ the lawyer said. She added that the family had received multiple death threats from Uzma’s family.
“We will kill you, if you do not produce your son,” a visiting party warned Zaheer’s family members.
The defence counsel maintained that the couple got married according to the Sharia, in light of their fundamental rights, and the respondents’ family has no right to harass them.
He requested the court to direct the Westridge SHO to take action against the respondents. Session Judge Rawalpindi will take up the case on Friday (today).
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2011.
Father of a newly married man moved the court on Thursday for police protection after the bride’s family threatened to kill them.
Muhammad Zareen, filed a writ petition before a trial court in Rawalpindi and sought police protection against death threats from the bride’s family. He made Masood Imran, father of the bride, and Nadeem Akhtar, Station House Officer (SHO) Westridge Police Station, respondents in the case.
The counsel for the defence, Farzana Iqbal, said that Uzma Masood and Ahsan Zaheer, who live in Qasimabad Rawalpindi, contracted a love marriage in court on April 26. This happened after Uzma’s parents declined Zaheer’s marriage proposal.
He added that the petitioner’s family were not involved in arranging the marriage as they never permitted their son to marry without her parents’ permission.
The petitioner’s family also tried to register a complaint with the Westridge police, but the SHO refused to take action against the bride’s family stating it “a family matter”.
“After police’s refusal to take action against, the family had no option but to knock at the court’s door,”’ the lawyer said. She added that the family had received multiple death threats from Uzma’s family.
“We will kill you, if you do not produce your son,” a visiting party warned Zaheer’s family members.
The defence counsel maintained that the couple got married according to the Sharia, in light of their fundamental rights, and the respondents’ family has no right to harass them.
He requested the court to direct the Westridge SHO to take action against the respondents. Session Judge Rawalpindi will take up the case on Friday (today).
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2011.