ISLAMABAD, May 25: A Hindu man and his daughter who has embraced Islam both heaved a sigh of relief on Thursday when the Supreme Court allowed the girl to live with her husband after securing guarantees from her father-in-law.

“We are inclined to seek guarantees from Abdus Sattar, father of the groom, to transfer Amjad Shahzad’s share in his property in the name of Neelum,” a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad observed while hearing a complaint of Misri Ludhani, an Additional Income Tax Commissioner, against what he called ‘abduction’ of his daughter Neelum Ludhani.

“I am extremely happy with the decision and will try to maintain relationship with my parents,” Neelum, 21, told reporters.

She had been approaching different courts seeking protection since her marriage with Amjad Shahzad on April 13. Before the marriage she had embraced Islam at the hands of Mufti Mohammad Jan Naeemi of Darul Uloom Mujaddadia in Karachi’s Malir area.

“Sometimes we have to show concern in such matters as we ourselves have families and cannot shut our eyes by going into technicalities,” the CJ observed during the hearing.

Abdus Sattar, the groom’s father who is a government contractor and owner of a construction firm, was ordered to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs1.5 million for an indefinite period to be deposited with the registrar of the apex court within a month.