Dua Zehra’s family approaches court

KARACHI:

The father of Dua Zehra, who got married of her choice, has approached the Sindh High Court. Petitioner Syed Mehdi Ali Kazmi pleaded in a petition, filed through his lawyer, that SSP East, SHO Al-Falah and the investigating officer should be ordered to recover Dua Zehra.

"The investigating officer should be ordered to recover Dua Zehra from Zaheer Ahmed and present them in court."

He asked that the family be provided protection and that the marriage of Dua Zehra and Zaheer be declared illegal.

"At 12:30 pm on April 16, my wife told me that our daughter Dua Zehra was missing." He went to Al-Falah police station and registered a case of abduction against unknown persons.

The petitioner came to know through social media that Zaheer Ahmed had married Dua Zahra. According to her registered date of birth, Dua Zehra was 14 years old at the time of marriage.

Underage marriage is an offense under the Child Marriage Restriction Act 2013. According to NADRA records, Dua Zahra is 13 years old.

"She should be recovered and an arrangement of a meeting with her parents must be ordered. DNA tests should be conducted to determine age," the petitioner contended.

Interim challan filed

The investigating officer in the case of the alleged abduction of Dua Zrhra has filed an interim challan in the court. The case was heard before the court of Judicial Magistrate East in Karachi City Court. Police presented an interim challan of the case in which provisions for underage marriage abetment have been included.

Zaheer Ahmed, the alleged prime suspect, Nikahkhwa Ghulam Mustafa and Nikah witnesses Shehzad and Asghar Ali have been declared absconders in the case. The provisions of Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act have also been included in the case.

Police have named six prosecution witnesses in the interim challan. As per the charge-sheet, the plaintiff stated that on April 16, at 1pm, he was informed by his wife that his 14-year-old daughter Dua Zehra was not at home.

CCTV footage of the area was obtained to trace her, but she could not be found. Call data records records of the plaintiff and three mobile phones used by the family were also taken into custody, but they did not contain any useful information.

Assistance was also sought from various agencies to find the alleged kidnapper, but without success.

According to media reports, Dua Zehra had married Zaheer Ahmed in Lahore, and a marriage certificate had also gone viral on social media, the interim challan read. It added the statement of Dua Zehra had been obtained on the orders of the Model Town Lahore magistrate.

The teenage girl denied that she had been kidnapped and said she married of her own will on April 17. Dua also maintained that her life was in danger if she went to Karachi.

According to NADRA records, Dua is 14 years old. The lawsuit includes provisions of underage marriage. "Zaheer has committed adultery by tempting Dua Zehra," the challan maintains.

The investigating officer asked for a period of 15 days for the presentation of the final challan of the case. He said Dua Zehra has to undergo a DNA and medical examination. The plaintiff's lawyer added that the court had given the police eight days to submit the final challan.

The court ordered the investigating officer to arrest the accused.