SHC quashes 'kidnapping' case over love marriage

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday ordered the dismissal of a kidnapping case and directed authorities to provide legal protection to a couple who entered into a marriage of their own choice.

The order came during the hearing of a petition filed by the couple seeking protection and the quashing of what they termed a false case. The petitioner's counsel, Liaquat Ali Khan Gabol, informed the court that Tasbeeh Amer and Muhammad Salman had solemnised their court marriage on April 2, 2026. He submitted that the woman's father, Amer, along with other relatives, was opposed to the marriage and had subsequently registered a kidnapping case against the husband and his family.

The lawyer argued that police had been harassing the couple, prompting the court earlier to restrain authorities from arresting them.

During the proceedings, it was stated that the woman had already appeared before a magistrate and recorded her statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, as well as her statement under Section 161 before the investigating officer (IO).

In her statement, she maintained that she had not been abducted and had married Muhammad Salman of her own free will, terming the case against her husband "baseless."