PESHAWAR, Oct 13: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday constituted a reconciliation committee for resolving a dispute arising out of a marriage between two students of a college, Sajid Khan and Naveed, against the wishes of their parents.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Tariq Pervez Khan and Justice Raj Mohammad Khan observed that the three-member committee would try to convince the father of the boy to accept the girl as his daughter-in-law.

There was a stir in the courtroom as the girl’s father, Faiz Mohammad, and her guardian, Humayun Khan, told the court that Naveeda was no longer their daughter.

“Write in the order sheet that I have disinherited my daughter and from now onwards I don’t want to see her,” a sobbing Faiz Mohammad said.

The girl said that she did not want to go with her father or guardian as she had been facing threats from them. She added that they were against her marriage with Sajid and had been convincing her to forget him.

The court ordered that the girl would live for three days at the residence of high court’s inspection team member Sahibzada Khursheed and the case would be again taken up for hearing on Monday.

The court observed that till that time the committee would try to resolve the issue. The committee members were: former MNA Haji GHulam Ahmad Bilour, senior advocate Abdul Lateef Afridi and former Peshawar town I nazim Haroon Ahmad Bilour. The bench was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Sajid Khan requesting the court to allow the girl to accompany him.

The high court had earlier dismissed his petition on July 11 on the grounds that his father did not agree to accept Ms Naveeda as his daughter-in-law.

Saadat Khan, father of Sajid, had claimed that his son was already married and he was having a son from his wedlock.

The bench while dismissing that petition had observed that as the boy was himself dependent on his father, therefore the girl could not be allowed to leave with him. The court had ordered that the girl should stay with her family till such time when either her father-in-law accepted her or her husband started earning his livelihood.

Sajid filed a fresh petition claiming that he had started his won business and he could support his wife. During last hearing the court had summoned the girl and her father. The girl told the court that she did not want to live with her family.

The petitioner claimed that he married Naveeda on Jan 1, 2005, whereas his second marriage was a family arrangement. He claimed that he and Ms Naveeda had contracted marriage with their free will and her parents had been forcing her to disown that marriage.