Runaway Afghan couple: Nikah registrar confirms Maryam’s first marriage

PESHAWAR:

A family court on Wednesday recorded the statement of an Afghan nikah registrar who claims to have witnessed and registered an eloped girl’s alleged first marriage.

The case hearing was held before the court of Family Judge Kiran Shaukat, where the nikah registrar Muhammad Gul and another witness Muhammad Naeem appeared before the court.

Maryam and Haiwad, an Afghan couple, eloped to Pakistan and got married in May 2012 in Abbottabad. However Rehman, the complainant, claimed that Maryam has been his wife since 2006 and was the mother of his two girls, Saba and Husna.

On the other hand, Maryam denied Rehman’s claim, saying that both the children were daughters of her late sister, Marzia. A subsequent DNA test conducted in Rawalpindi established Maryam as the mother of her two alleged nieces, four-year old Saba and three-year old Husna.

In the Wednesday’s hearing, Gul recorded his statement before the court, saying that he witnessed Maryam’s first marriage to Rehman, adding the nikah certificate was available at Auqaf and Religious Affairs department at Consulate in Afghanistan.

The court directed Maryam to produce her evidence on the next case hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2013.