SC asks AGP if parents’ name on docs necessary

Amicus says passports of many counties do not mention father’s name


Hasnaat Malik October 05, 2018
Supreme Court of Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: The top court has asked whether name of the mother could be mentioned on an official document when the father has failed to provide basic emotional and financial support to a child or does not include his child’s name in his family tree at the National Database Registration Authority.

A three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, on Thursday asked senior lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan and the attorney general of Pakistan (AGP) to assist on this point while hearing petition of a girl whose father allegedly refused to give her his name.

During the hearing, Khan who has been appointed as amicus in this case contended that there are many developed and developing countries where the parents’ names are not mentioned on the passport.

Girl moves top court for removal of father's name from her official documents

He suggested that the bench issue a notice to the AGP to explain why it is necessary to display name of parents on the passport. The bench later issued a notice to the AGP in this regard and adjourned the hearing till October 23.

The petitioner Tatheer Fatima had informed the court that when she approached her father for documents connected to her matriculation, he asked her to first malign and denounce her mother.

She had requested the SC to remove her father’s name from her documents. However, there is no law governing removal of a father’s name and this is a unique legal case.

During the hearing on Thursday, the father said he is willing to own the 22-year-old Tatheer. However, the bench expressed anger over his not including his daughter in his family tree.

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