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| May 28, 2005 | Saturday | Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1426 |
FIR in Arab woman’s case quashed
PESHAWAR, May 27: The Peshawar High Court on Friday quashed an FIR registered against the Pakistani husband of an Arab woman and his two brothers charged with keeping the woman in wrongful confinement. A single-judge bench of Chief Justice Tariq Pervez accepted a petition filed by Juma Raz Khan, the husband of Sheikha Mohammad Hamoud Alhamdi, through which he had requested the court to quash an FIR registered at the Karak city police station on April 17 against him and his two brothers Sher Abbas and Kabil Rehman.
In the impugned FIR registered under section 342 of the Pakistan Penal Code, the three brothers were charged with keeping the woman in wrongful confinement.
The bench pronounced the order after the investigation officer concerned stated that investigation had proved that the case was not based on facts. He stated that the woman had married Juma Raz of Karak of her own free will and was not kept in illegal confinement.
Justice Tariq Pervez observed that when the woman had visited Pakistan of her free will and entered into nikkah there was no basis for the registration of the FIR.
On the directives of the high court, Investigation Officer Mir Sarfaraz Khan of Karak city police station had recorded the statements of the three accused and Ms Sheikha.
He appeared before the bench with relevant record and stated that police intended to withdraw the case. He said they had also sought the opinion from the district public prosecutor who had stated that on the basis of available record no case could be made out against the accused.
During the last hearing, Ms Sheikha Mohammad had informed the court that she had arrived in Pakistan on April 7 and married Juma Raz Khan in Karak the same day.
The woman, who is 21, had known Juma Raz as he was her family driver in the United Arab Emirates.
Petitioner’s counsel Zafar Abbas Zaidi contended that the FIR was registered to pressurise the petitioner to send his wife back to the UAE. He said the two brothers of the petitioner were arrested in the same case and were later granted bail by a sessions judge.
Mr Zaidi contended that there was no justification in the registration of the impugned FIR.
The woman has already applied for Pakistani citizenship and her case has been pending before the interior division in Islamabad.
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