Police halt probe into alleged kidnapping of Christian girl
Ghazi police have halted a probe into the alleged kidnapping of an underage Christian girl after she released a video stating that she has converted to Islam and married a Muslim boy.
Earlier, the girl’s parents, Noreen Maseeh, and Frances Maseeh, residents of Ghazi Sobra City, had lodged a complaint with the Ghazi police stating that their 14-and-a-half-year-old daughter was kidnapped on August 3 while she was preparing for her examination.
Ghazi police told The Express Tribune that the Christian girl has converted to Islam and married an 18-year-old Muslim boy, a resident of Swabi district, of her own free will.
The police said that they have stopped a further investigation of the case after a video message of the girl surfaced on social media along with a Nikahnama.
Sources told The Express Tribune that the Christian girl named Princey had converted to Islam before marrying 18-year-old Zulqarnain, a resident of Swabi.
The couple solemnised a court marriage, and the girl has been renamed Zainab, the police said. The couple tied the knot in a Swabi civil court in the presence of witnesses.
In the video message, the girl said that she has converted to Islam with no pressure or influence and she had willingly married Zulqarnain. In the video, she told her parents that she was happy and they should not be worried about her.
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The girl’s parents had lodged the complaint against Zulqarnain, alleging that he had kidnapped their daughter.
However, the police have stopped pursuing the case on the complaint after the video of the girl surfaced. In the Nikahnama, according to the police, the girl has mentioned her age as 17 years.
The girl’s parents had also claimed that their daughter also took away jewelry and precious items with her who, they said, had been enticed to elope. The parents had alleged that the police were not cooperating with them and had demanded the high officials to take notice of the issue.
Law expert Atif Raza said that the girl’s marriage was according to the law and shariah if she had solemnised it of her own free will. He said the police cannot register a kidnapping case against the boy as the couple had solemnised court marriage.
Religious leader Maulana Hafiz Abdul Ikhlaq said that Islam, although allows free will marriage, certain conditions were required to be fulfilled for a marriage under the Islamic law.
He said an adult girl can marry of her own free will in presence of witnesses and Islam doesn’t prohibit it.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 13th, 2021.