Two minor girls for the price of one married woman

BHAKKAR: In Notak’s Bundu area a commission agent’s son abducted a married woman.

According to police officials, nearly a month ago Noor Muhammad’s son Mumtaz Ahmed abducted Muhammad Aslam’s wife Sada Bahari’s newlywed daughter. According to a panchayat’s verdict the commission agent promised to give two girls in wani and also return the abducted woman to the family. On Sunday, two minor girls were married to Chandi Sehad’s son and an unidentified person.

Bhakkar police received a tip-off regarding the marriage ceremony and raided and arrested several people. The woman was returned to her family on Sunday evening and neighbours revealed that two girls from the family had been declared wani.

“There was no abduction, the mother of the girls charged the men of abducting her daughter because she didn’t know that the men of the family had agreed to give her up in wani,” said Sughran Bibi, a neighbour. Bhakkar police raided and arrested several people involved with taking the young girls from their house in the middle of the night and have started an investigation.

According to the police, a case will be registered after the facts of the case are revealed. “No case will be registered if it is found that the girls were agreed to be sent in wani by both families,” said SP Nadeem Chughtai.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2010.