‘I was sold by my mother at 14’

ISLAMABAD: A woman, accusing her mother of “selling” her off to a 70-year-old man when she was only 14, registered an FIR against her, along with the aged man.

Rukhsana Bibi, the mother of Saba Noreen, admitted before the police investigation officer that the facts given in the FIR were true. Noreen, who is currently based in England, told Rawalpindi Police in an FIR report that her mother, Rukhsana, dressed her up as a bride against her will and sent her off with Muhammad Aamil nine years ago.

The man took her to a hotel in Murree and forced her to have sex with him for five consecutive days. On her return, Noreen was told by her mother that Aamil was her husband now and she was to keep quiet about the matter.

To date, there is no marriage certificate or witnesses, Noreen maintained. Noreen said she spent four years with Aamil and even became pregnant at one point. But Aamil asked her to get an abortion. All this while, he continued to pay Noreen’s mother in hundreds of thousands, according to Noreen. One day, Aamil’s grown up son tried to sexually harass Noreen as he was taking her home in a car.

When she resisted and tried to escape, locals gathered and rescued her, taking her to Civil Lines Police Station. Noreen said she told the police everything and claimed that since Aamil was not her actual husband, he had been committing adultery with her for the past four years. However, the SHO verbally abused her and kicked her out of the police station, she claimed.

“Later, my mother contacted an agent and sent me to England, telling me that Aamil had divorced me and wanted to kill me,” she said. Noreen has been living in England for the last five years. She said she received life threats continuously from Aamil’s sons. She also filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Pakistan, seeking suo moto action against the people involved in her predicament.

Meanwhile, Civil Lines police have registered a case against Rukhsana Bibi, Muhammad Aamil and his son. The investigating officer, Muhammad Hasnaat, told The Express Tribune that all three accused had been granted interim bail, but “they were being interrogated.” In the initial inquiry, Muhammad Aamil had said that he had married Saba Noreen verbally as per Islamic sharia law.

However, a lawyer, Sarfraz Bosal, while talking toThe Express Tribune said that this type of nikah (marriage contract) was not legal. “According to Muslim law, the nikah has to be registered and should have witnesses as well. In this case, where there were no witnesses and no marriage agreement, it cannot be considered a valid nikah. Therefore, the accused, it seems, has been committing adultery with the girl.” Another lawyer, Hashmat Habib, maintained that even in Shariah, every agreement has to have witnesses and be registered.

“Secondly, if the couple had married according to shariah, the girl’s intention and will for the marriage was necessary and if it was not there, the nikah was not legal in the eyes of shariah,” he said. Aamil also told the police that Rukhsana Bibi was a “greedy woman”, who had forced him to marry her daughter. “(Initially) I had refused because she was very young,” he said.

Muhammad Aamil said he had already paid Rukhsana Rs14,00,000, but she was demanding another Rs10,00,000. The investigation officer said the accused were on interim bail till April 17 and that the charges against the SHO, who was mentioned in the FIR would also be probed. Saba has also sent an application to Punjab Chief Minister.