LHC grants minor daughter’s custody to French mother
The screaming girl, named Amina Tarrar, was brought to court by South Cantt Police, Lahore. “I will only go with my mother if she converts to Islam,” Amina told Justice Manzoor Ali during the hearing. “Child, my job is to decide the case on basis of law,” the judge responded.
The police found Amina from the Combined Military Hospital, Lahore, where her father Razzaq Tarrar has been admitted for a heart condition.
Tarrar’s lawyer argued that the only reason Amina had been detained by her father was because she was a Muslim man’s daughter. But her mother, Ingrid Brandun Berger’s counsel, argued that the guardian court of Phalia, a sessions court and a French court had already awarded Berger her daughter’s custody.
Amina was born in France to French national Berger and Pakistani national Razzaq Tarrar. The couple divorced in 2001, and a French court gave custody of the minor to Berger. Tarrar, a resident of Phalia, brought Amina, then five years old, to Pakistan when he was supposed to spend the weekend with his daughter. In 2005, Tarrar filed for Amina’s custody in Phalia’s guardian court. Berger then came to Pakistan in 2006 and filed for custody in the same court. The guardian court again gave custody to Berger, but before the order could be executed, Tarrar disappeared with Amina, says Berger’s lawyer.
Berger then took the case to the sessions court, which also awarded the custody to her, but Amina was detained by her father. Berger filed an FIR against Tarrar at the Phalia police station under Section 363 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Tarrar has been declared a proclaimed offender for abducting Amina and not producing her despite court orders.
Berger and her counsel allege that local politicians and Mandi Bahauddin DPO Dar Ali Khattak have been colluding with Tarrar and his family and refused to find Amina. In 2009, Berger filed another petition in the Lahore High Court for her daughter’s recovery.
Amina’s grandfather Manzoor Ahmed told reporters that they did not want their granddaughter to “grow up as an infidel”. The family insisted that reporters should interview Amina, who was traumatised after the verdict.
In the last three years, this is the second case of international parental child abduction, involving a French citizen, in which the LHC has awarded custody to the mother. In 2009, a high-profile case emerged of French national Peggy Collin who campaigned for the recovery of her minor son who was abducted by his Pakistani father. Once the case caught public eye, the Punjab government also intervened to speed up the recovery of Collin’s son. Collin, who now lives in Paris with her son, has been helping Berger in the search for her daughter in Pakistan with the help of the French embassy.
Tarrar’s lawyer likened Berger’s case to Collin’s and complained that the court should have considered that the Muslim father is the rightful custodian of the minor.
Immediately after the hearing, Berger and Amina flew to Islamabad from where they are scheduled to fly to Paris.
Father has right to appeal LHC decision
The Judicial Activism Panel has filed an application in the Supreme Court of Pakistan for a suo motu notice on behalf of the Provincial Minister planning and development mines and mineral energy, Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor, to keep the minor in Pakistan till the father can contest an appeal against the LHC verdict in the Apex court.
In the application, Ghafoor asks the Apex court to take a suo motu on grounds that the minor did not want to go with her mother. He asked the court whether it was better if the case was settled at the Supreme Court level.
Ghafoor has asked if it can be guaranteed whether the French mother would not ask the girl to change her religion. The minister further urged the court to stop Amina from leaving the country till the father Abdul-Razzaq Tarrar who is under treatment in a hospital, exercises his right to appeal the LHC verdict in the Supreme Court.
COMMENTS (50)
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@ayesha khan: She Does Not Want To Live With Her Mother What Part of This Don't You Understand
The child is calling her mother Kuti, she is repeatedly saying I don't want to go with this Kuti. The child has been brought up by very poisonous, intolerant bigots. I am glad mother is taking her away from all this and will raise her as a decent, tolerant human being not a bigot who think their own religion is better than the others and abuse rest of world because they are not muslims. Good people don't teach their daughters to call her mum Kuti..She will get good education and learn to be a tolerant human being...instead of what she is learning from her muslim father and his family.
@Adnan: Yes unfortunately its the media which is shaping up our opinions these days.
I think that she does not understand what she said, but they were not lying in News as well.
@Adnan: Let me repharase my previous question aswell....Do you think a little girl amina is sane enough to comprehend and hold a RELIGION responsible ?.and do you think she knows what racism is ? (WHITE and BLACK )
@Ali:
Let me change my question a little.
Do you think the News channels would say something like "Amina said this to judge and judge said that in response to her? Can't and wouldn't court do anything if News channels attribute lies to court?
Didn't you see what Amina's grandfather said in the above video?
@Adnan: whats makes you think that news channels is truth and nothing but truth?.
@Adnan: Do you sincerely think a little girl knows what is white and what is CHRISTIAN ?. Its simple human nature. She has developed a longing with her father and its inhuman of her mother not to have considered her daughter's feelings.
@Ali:
I saw ARY News they said Amnia said in court that she will not go with a WHITE and CHRISTIAN woman. Amina 's father and other relatives are try to make it a religious issue.
It seems that people here have made this a RELIGIOUS issue, whereas, its a human rights issue. Very sad that people are seeing it this way.
@ayesha khan: Im sorry but you and many people here are making it a RELIGION issue...Not the case...The child is not crying because her mother is a CHRISTIAN......shes crying because she has developed an affinity with her father.....Where has the human rights aspect gone now ?...
NONE HAS NO RIGHT TO IMPOSE HIS OPINION UPON OTHERS HENCE,, LET MINR DECIDE HER OWN,,,as such both father n mother are guilty marrying immature n none has no right to impose his own will upon others ???THE WILL OF THE MINOR MUST PREVAIL regardless of any conflict between parental laws or children's laws or religious laws etc as such only the LAWS N PRINCIPLES OF NATURE JUSTICE N EQUITY ARE EVER PREDOMINANT OVER our all sorts of MAN MADE interpretations ??? WILL OF MINOR ??? CAN NOT BE DISCREDITED AS SUCH IT AMOUNTS TO WELFARE OF THE MINOR but, not our conflicts ???
She is crying like perhaps all children cry when they go to school first time. We should remember that as there is no reason to cry when going to school there is no reason to cry when going with mother as well. It is all because of her father. Amina will soon learn that whatever her father told her is wrong.
@Ali: "Lets assume she had been brainwashed…Now what ?…..havent you seen the video?…she was crying and protesting….she has been taken to france….Isnt this a human rights issue "
She is young. In a loving caring environment that her mother will provide, she will soon realize that all Non-Muslims are not bad. That would nto be bad for the child either to grow up with respect for other faiths and tolerance. Instead of such hatred for other religions, that she rejects her OWN mother due to Christianity.
Everybody is talking about the parents...No ones talking about the child.....Lets assume she had been brainwashed...Now what ?.....havent you seen the video?...she was crying and protesting....she has been taken to france....Isnt this a human rights issue ?
Disgusting ! Kid has already been fed with enough religious bias where the girl has no love for her own mother because of egomaniac religious affiliations. Good decision by the court though.
Pakistani courts high or supreme are .............................. they are taking money and doing justice/injustice.
Question
Why we should follow the english law???????????????? Islamic laws are not enough to follow. We all are BEGHAIRAT A non muslim women taken away the muslim Hafiz e Quran girl with the consent of court. Should we accept these courts? Are we still muslim????????????????????????????????????
Why now care for the religion when your son didn't think about this when marrying this poor French woman who has been deprived of her child? What sick people! Go to West, marry their women, get citizenship and play the religion card when you need to.
@sarmad: So the children's right is to be taken away from their mother?? Would you have the same opinion had the mother been Muslim and the daughter would want to stay with the non-Muslim father?? I am sure you will say that the daughter needs to be with the Muslim mother.
@faiman: Agreed But Now Lets Talk About Damage Control Why Should The Child Be Punished for The Wrong Doings of Her Parents
Is 'Acid' short in market ?
I think the girl should really get to stay with whom she wants. But I can't help but think if the poor soul was brainwashed to think that way. The grandfather said the didn't want their granddaughter to “grow up as an infidel”!!! Why then was it okay for their son to marry a non-Muslim and have a kid with her and live with her. All of a sudden when they divorced, he realized that she would “grow up as an infidel”? It's too little too late Mr.Razzaq. You should have thought about all this before you married a woman just for her white skin or blue eyes to worst yet the visa status she could have helped you gain!!!
Good decision. Look at these hypocrite Pakistanis. Why did he marry a non muslim woman if he was so concerned about his religion. Most of the Pakistanis abroad marry goris to obtain nationalities and after getting it they simply leave them. On his face.
@Indian: there is a diffrence between hindu and muslim , please be informed
The little innocent baby want to stay with her father and crying for help, We must respect her emotions. The descion is the serious violation of children rights.
Commend the pakistani justice system for not playing towards emotions. the point here is the father kidnapped the girl when she was living in france. No law in the world deprives a mother from her child.
Forget what has done by her father, but now to address the main issue and the issue is where the little innocent baby want to stay. She has been kidnapped through court, Little baby is crying for help and not agree to stay with her mother. Court has seriously viloated the children rights.
Think before you marry a non-Muslim woman.If marriage is not successful then such complications are bound to occur.
How can only religion decide who takes custody of the child. A daughter is a daughter, regardless of the religion of the parent. The child should be with the mother, not with the criminal her father is, who kidnapped the child and took her away from her mother and brainwashed the kid. Don't non-Muslims have families? Don't they have kids? Is it a crime to be non-Muslim and be a mother?? To most Pakistanis it seems that way, please don't include religion in everything, there are a few feelings, some bonds that transcend religion, like mother-daughter relationship.
the child has been brainwashed and it is now necessary that she be sent to france because her father has obviously poisoned her mind with hate and bigotry against non-muslims.if the child had said that she doesn't want to go because she likes her life here than that was one thing but her only 'demand' was that her mother should have to change her religion,this shows what sort of father this guy is,he has poisoned the child's mind.not only did he kidnap her from france but a lower court in pakistan had previously given a ruling in the mother's favour after which this man again kidnapped the child and broke pakistani law in addition to the french laws he has already broken.it's high time that respect for the law is established.criminals who repeatedly break the laws beling in jail.
If the father didn't want his daughter to live with an 'infidel', why on earth did he marry 'infidel' in the first place? Hypocrisy at it's best. He abducted that girl twice against the courts verdicts and then fled with her. I think justice has been served here. Child should go to her mom. Father should be punished for abducting that child.
Sad incident.
The grandfather says that the girl should not be allowed to taken out of Pakistan until the father has a chance to appeal in the Supreme court. The father had already kidnapped the daughter twice - once in 2005 when the decision was taken in a French court where the girl was living and later in 2006 in Pakistan. What is the guarantee that the father will not once again kidnap Amna and run away?
Also the mother has been kept away from her child for 7 years. How long should she wait? Is this fair to her?
If the man did not want to raise his child as an infidel, why did he marry a non-Muslim French woman and live with her in France
@muhammad: "its not only about this custody case pakistni courts are obeying European courts, why Pakistani judge didnt did his own hearing on this matter, he just follows decision "
Pakistani judges DID hear in 2006 when the girl was 6 years old Per shariah they granted custody to mother and the father disappeared with the daughter.
Today it was not a custody case but a kidnapping case that was decided.
Really, if Pakistani men are so worried about the religion of their children they should think twice about marrying western women.This is not the first case which has come to light. That little girl is probably a French citizen. The mother is using perfectly legal means to regain her child.If the father wanted custody he should have battled it out in the French courts instead of just absconding with her. @ Mr Ashiq Hussain what a totally silly thing to say.Don't make comments about people based on their nationalities.If the mother had no feelings for her daughter she would not have come have way across the world to get her. The courts know what is the law.They ruled according to it.Don't support the father just because he is Pakistani and a man.
The father wronged the child when he detained her and brainwashed her against the mother. He should have thought of the traumatic effect on the child of his actions.
@rabia: why people keep ranting about Islam. Why religion be any consideration in deciding who will take care of child better. In most of the cases, mothers are better suited for taking care of children. The father abducted the child and flew to Pakistan. The custody was already given to her mother. If you were a mother you will know how painful it is to be away from your child for 6 yrs !!! If he cared so much about Islam, then why marry a foreigner in first place.
@Rabia,
Islamic law places the right of custody in the hands of the mother. Please stop spreading disinfo.
The man should not have run away with the child from France in the first place. Imagine what the mother must have gone through all these years. The father committed a terrible crime - and then further traumatized his daughter by brainwashing her against her mother. He doesn't sound like a good man or a fair one, just one of those typical depressing cases one hears about, where the child is a tool for his own ends, not a small human being he is supposed to be caring for.
@rabia: so you're saying you know what the verdict would be under an 'Islamic system'? Are you a qazi? Please give proof for your statement citing Quran and Sunnah.
@rabia
Of course, because it won't be just. Just as how the Islamic law didn't ignore, when the emotions of a girl crying from lashes in Swat.
Pakistani men should never ever marry a foreigner. European do not have felins. they will snatch your kids and they only care about money. It has happened to many people. father are not always wrong.
@ bilal she is 11 year old, she is not minor. After 7 year of age, kid can decide herself. This is total false decision by our court. Now this poor girl will live with this french lady and her boyfriend in a very bad conditions.
complete unfair. its not only about this custody case pakistni courts are obeying European courts, why Pakistani judge didnt did his own hearing on this matter, he just follows decision of French court. it always happens... those rules must be changed slaves.. we are salves.
This is really ridiculous. If he was so concerned about Islam why didnt he ask his wife to convert before marriage so he wouldnt have to worry about his children growing up as 'non-muslims'? Pakistani men go abroad, have fun and use gori women, have children and then with no concern for the feelings of the childrens' mother they take their children away. Whether the mother is muslim or not, she is still a MOTHER. Look at the level of brainwashing at work, the child doesnt want to go with her own MOTHER because apparently shes not good enough as a PARENT unless she converts to Islam. Islam teaches us to respect our parents even if they are non-believers, but this is just so chauvanistic of the child, the father and the stupid grandparents who were probably secretly proud that their son had bagged a gori maym, and now are behaving like the stupid jahils that they are.
if Pakistan would have follow the Islamic system no one can ignores aminah's emotions and religion. No law is better than divine law. Human mind is too small and immature to make laws.
all the fault lies with the father. many muslim young men go abroad get fascinated by blue eyed fair faced ladies there and marry them. once they become parents then religion comes back to them and they are worried about their kids becoming "infidels". so why not marry a regular muslim girl in the first place!
@Ashar: she is a minor hence mother has the first right.
Who cares what the child wants right?