Teenager Dua Zehra was produced in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday, along with her husband Zaheer Ahmed, and stated that she “wanted to live with her husband”.
Brought before the court by police during the hearing of the case, the teenager stated that neither was she “forced” nor was she “kidnapped”. She reiterated that she was 18 years old and had been brought from Chishtian.
The advocate general informed the court that Dua and Zaheer were married in Punjab, therefore, there was no violation of law in Sindh. The counsel representing Dua’s parents pleaded to the court that the girl was underage, however, the teenager stated that she was 18 years old and wanted to stay with Zaheer. Dua’s father also tried to intervene but the court did not permit him to.
As Dua’s mother entered the courtroom, she tried to embrace her daughter, however after the hearing security personnel refused to let them meet.
Meanwhile, at one point during the proceedings, Dua’s parents requested the court to grant them permission to meet her for 10 minutes. However, the teenager refused. “What can we do when she, herself, has refused,” Justice Ghaffar said. “[Her] parents are standing here … they are worried … but we have to consider the law.”
Earlier, Karachi Anti-Violent Crime Cell and Lahore’s Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) conducted an operation in Bahawalnagar to recover Dua Zehra. She was then shifted to Karachi along with her alleged husband. She was kept under the protection of women police while Zaheer was kept under protection in Anti Violent Crime Cell.
The pair’s marriage certificate also came to light through social media a few days ago. A case of abduction was registered by Dua’s father in the Al-Falah police station on April 16, 2022. The case was subsequently handed over to the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (CIA) in accordance with the law.
For her recovery, seven teams were formed under the leadership of DIG CIA Karim Khan which carried out raids over the past 15 days in different parts of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir.
The court had earlier barred former Sindh Inspector General (IG) Kamran Fazal from his post due to the delay in Dua Zehra’s recovery. The federal government, in consultation with Sindh government, transferred Additional IG Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon as a temporary charge of IG Sindh.
