Separated couples move courts for family meetings

Rawalpindi judicial complex allocates two halls to facilitate parents’ reunion with children

RAWALPINDI:

Divorced couples across the Rawalpindi district are filing applications in family courts for family visits to meet their children before Eidul Fitr.

These meetings, held in the judicial complex during the last week of the fasting month of Ramazan, last for about 2-2.5 hours. During these visits, divorced parents engage with their children, offering gifts such as clothes, toys, watches, and money.

They dedicate quality time to converse with their children, attentively listen to their wishes, and strive to fulfil their desires. Alongside parents, grandparents, grandmothers, aunts, and uncles also join these gatherings.

The judicial complex has allocated two large halls and rooms for these meetings, with appointed judicial staff overseeing the proceedings. Currently, fifty divorced couples have submitted petitions for these appointments, all of which are granted on humanitarian grounds. Parents from other cities can also submit applications before Eid and around 20-25 parents meet their children daily in these sessions starting from the 21st of Ramazan.

Children are prepared for these meetings and are brought to the court's judicial complex, accompanied by either their mothers, maternal grandmothers, or parental grandmothers.

Family courts determine custody based on factors such as the child's age, preference, and legal status following the divorce decree. Many parents also have court-ordered visitation rights once a month.

These Eidul Fitr meetings hold special significance as children receive Eidis during these gatherings, adding to the festive atmosphere and strengthening family bonds during this joyous occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2024.