20 January 2005	Thursday	09 Zilhaj 1425

HYDERABAD, Jan 19: The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad bench, on Wednesday directed the Mirpurkhas DPO, the Digri TPO and the Digri SHO to provide security to a newly-wed couple who had prayed for protection in the wake of threats to their lives by their relatives.

The order was passed on a petition filed by Riaz Ghanwar and his wife Hakeema. The police officials in their comments denied that police had harassed the petitioners and added that police had no complaints against them from any quarter and no case had been registered against them.

It was stated in the petition that a brother of Ms Hakeema, Jummo, had tried to give her in marriage to an old man without her consent. When she refused, he confined her after beating and torturing her.

The petition said Ms Hakeema fled from the house and married Faiz Ghanwar, to whom she had been engaged, in the court of civil judge and the judicial magistrate-III of Mirpurkhas.

It said this annoyed her brothers who moved false applications before police officials to disgrace the petitioners and force Mr Ghanwar to divorce his wife. The petitioners stated that the accused were now issuing threats to them that they would be killed as karo and kari.

They alleged that after the applications, police officials, including the DPO, TPO and the SHO, started pressuring and threatening them to send Hakeema back to her family, failing which they would be booked in false cases under the Hudood Ordinance. They said due to these threats they were hiding at different places.