By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court(SHC) gave interim custody of a teenage Karachi girl, Dua Zehra, who left her house to marry a boy in Lahore, to her parents on Friday.
The court rejected the petition filed by Zaheer Ahmed, her husband, seeking the court to dispose of the case and order to let his wife go with him.
The court, however, ordered the girl’s father to submit a surety bond worth Rs. 1 million. It also called the father to report every week to the Child Protection Bureau in the presence of a police officer.
The girl’s husband, Zaheer, also appeared in the court. Zaheer Ahmad’s attorney Gul Muhammad Farooqi objected to the opposing party’s claim at the beginning of the hearing, questioning how the girl could be considered under custody at a shelter home when the court had sent her there itself. He argued that it was unfair to send her to child home because she was the main witness in the case.
SHC takes consent of Dua Zehra
Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro said it is better to seek the girl’s consent. The judge asked Dua (whose parents alleged that Zaheer Ahmad kidnaped her) to tell the court where she wanted to go.
The girl said that she wanted to go home with her parents. Then the judge asked her if she had any reservations. When the girl didn’t object, the court allowed her interim custody to her parents but said the trial court would decide about her permanent custody. The court asked the parents to give some surety to the court to get custody of the girl.
