Free-will marriage: Court orders police to produce ‘missing’ woman in court

Petitioner alleges that his wife has been kidnapped by her family.

KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar ordered the Jamshoro police’s senior superintendent on Thursday to produce in court a woman who has allegedly been kidnapped by her family for solemnising free-will marriage on December 6.

The order came on a petition by Maher Khan who had gone to the court to seek release of his wife, Amna, from the alleged illegal confinement of her family members.



Khan and Amna had reportedly solemnised free-will marriage in the court against the wishes of their parents. This infuriated the woman’s family, who registered a kidnapping case against Khan in Sehwan.

The petitioner submitted that he joined the police force and was at the Shahdadpur police training centre when his in-laws allegedly took away his wife from his home. Fearing that his wife might be killed on the pretext of karo kari, he asked the court to order the police to free his wife from her family.

On the last date of hearing, the SHC bench had ordered SSP Jamshoro to find the woman and produce her in court.

On Thursday, the police officials filed comments, saying that they could not locate Amna but efforts were still under way.

Taking notice of their failure to find the woman, Justice Baqar ordered SSP Jamshoro to produce Amna in the court on December 6 when her family members would also appear.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2013.