July 03, 2006	Monday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 6, 1427

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PESHAWAR, July 2: A man, who married a girl of his choice in a local court on June 7, and his parents are facing charges under the Hudood law levelled by the girl’s father.

The couple, Fakhre Imam and Sadaf, and three other people have been granted interim pre-arrest bail by a local court and the case has been fixed for July 6.

Mohammad Tariq, father of the girl and a resident of Nauthia, lodged an FIR with the West Cantt police station under sections 5, 10 and 11 of the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979.

He charged Fakhre Imam, his father Hassan Khan, his mother Hashmat Begum, and Ghulam Khan, a friend of Hassan Khan.

Under law, a girl who has attained puberty has the legal right to marry a person of her choice.

The complainant claimed that the age of his daughter was 13 or 14 years and said Fakhre Imam and his parents had lured her into the marriage.

Sadaf denied the charge, saying: “I have married Fakhr of my own free will and was never abducted or forcibly taken away by him.”

The girl said she was 19 years old. She said she used to visit a vocational centre located in Saddar and added that she had met Fakhr three months ago while going to the centre.

Sadaf said Fakhr’s parents visited her residence and requested her father for her hand, but he declined.

The counsel for the couple, Umer Zafran, said that since the complainant had claimed that the girl was underage, the police had been pressurising her to return to her parents.

He said the couple and other people charged in the FIR had moved a court and were granted interim pre-arrest bail. He added that if the medical examination of the girl was conducted it would prove that she was sui juris.