Guardianship: Police ordered to recover Malaysian woman’s daughter

LAHORE:

Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered Faisalabad police on Thursday to recover the daughter of a Malaysian woman from the ‘unlawful’ custody of her paternal grandmother in Faisalabad.

Justice Farrukh Gulzar Awan directed the Nishatabad DSP to produce the girl and her grandmother in court on August 10.

Areha Eman had filed a petition on Wednesday stating that she had married Moaz Khalid, a Pakistani residing in Ulu Tiram Johar, Malaysia, on July 31, 2012. She said they had a daughter, Arifa, one year after their marriage but that their relationship had strained later.

She said that in March 2014, Moaz’s mother Muniza Khalid had brought Arifa to Pakistan saying that she would bring the girl back after her family had seen her. She said Muniza never took the girl back to Malaysia.

Eman said she had come to Pakistan a few days ago and gone to her in-laws in Faisalabad. “They misbehaved with me, prevented me from entering the house and did not let me see my daughter.” She said she had requested the local police to register an FIR against her in-laws but they did not. Police say they could recover the girl only if the court orders so, she said.

Eman said Khalid was still working in Malaysia. She said they had just separated and were not divorced. She accused Muniza of keeping Arifa with her unlawfully, with the connivance of Khalid.

She told the court she was the “natural guardian” of the girl according to Pakistan’s family laws. She had requested the court to order the recovery of Arifa, and issued direction for action against her in-laws.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2015.