An additional district and sessions judge on Saturday released five people accused of abducing a girl said to be 13, after she told the judge that the accusation was false and she was married to one of her alleged kidnappers.
Her father Abdul Aziz had filed the petition in Judge Malik Tariq Mehmood Zargham’s court alleging that Muhammad Irfan, Ramazan, Muhammad Sultan, Sumaira Bibi and Muhammad Raoof abducted his 13-year-old daughter Mehwish.
He said that she had disappeared from home on February 21, 2010. After looking for her for two days, he said, the family found out that she had been “kidnapped” by relatives.
He said he had called up Irfan and told him to let his daughter go, but the accused refused and threatened to kidnap one of his other kids if he told the police. He said Irfan had earlier sought to marry Mehwish but he had rejected his proposal.
Aziz filed a complaint with North Cantt police station and they registered a case under Section 365-B of the Pakistan Penal Code.
On Saturday, Mehwish told the court that she had chosen to wed Irfan and had not been abducted. Her father flared up after hearing the remarks, but Mehwish insisted that the decision to get married was her own.
The judge ordered the accused persons released.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2011.
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