Runaway afghan couple: Nikah registrar’s absence adjourns case

Afghan couple case has been adjourned until today after Nikah registar of first marriage could not appear before court

PESHAWAR: The controversial Afghan couple case has been adjourned until today (Tuesday) after the Nikah registar of alleged first marriage could not appear before the court. The registrar, who was scheduled to appear before the family court judge Kiran Shaukat, also failed to show up at the court in time due to roadblocks in the city in preparation for the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) rally. The family court issued orders on September 29 for a DNA test of Maryam, her alleged first husband, Abdul Rehman, and their alleged daughters, Saba and Husna. According to Maryam, Saba and Husna are her nieces – her sister Marzia’s daughters, who died in 2006. She alleged that Rehman was her brother-in-law. Both families claim that Maryam eloped with another man while she was married to Rehman, and took their daughters with her. Maryam has already expressed reservations on conducting the tests in Pakistan by saying she would never believe the tests conducted in local laboratories.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2012.