ISLAMABAD, Jan 10: The mother of 12-year-old Misbah Irum Rana – who is at the centre of a custody tussle between her parents – told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that she was ready to drop her claim.
Headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, a three-member bench had taken up an appeal of Sajjad Ahmed Rana, the girl’s father, to annul the Lahore High Court's order to return his UK-born daughter to her Scottish mother Louise Anne Fairley.
On Dec 8 the Supreme Court had allowed Misbah to continue staying with her father until mid-January. Misbah, also known as Molly Campbell, had fled Scotland last August with her elder sister, Tehmina, to join her father in Pakistan. Since then Sajjad Rana is claiming that Misbah wants to live with him in Lahore, but her mother Ms Fairley is arguing that her daughter was taken unlawfully and therefore should return home in the Western Isle in Scotland. Sajjad and Ms Fairley divorced in 2001.
Accepting her plea, Justice Saqib Nisar of the Lahore High Court on a habeas corpus petition of Ms Fairley had ordered the British High Commission on Nov 29 to arrange for the reunion of the girl with her mother within a week. The judge also held that the Scotland's Lord Ordinary Sessions Judge Lady Anne Smith had rightly held that the minor should stay with her mother since the youngster was a British citizen.
However, her departure from Pakistan was deferred when a Division Bench of the High Court stayed the execution of the single bench’s order for the return of Misbah until Friday on an intra court appeal by the father.
On Wednesday Nahida Mehboob Ellahi, on behalf of Louise Anne Fairley, told the court that her client no longer wished to fight for full residency of Misbah in the UK and was ready for an out-of-court settlement on condition she gets regular access to her daughter.
The court directed both the parties to submit conditions of compromise in writing before the court by January 17 when the matter will be taken up again.
In the meanwhile, Misbah will be allowed by her father to call her mother any time during the pendency of the instant appeal.
During the hearing, the court also expressed displeasure when told that Misbah has not come to attend proceedings as she was unwell and staying in Lahore.
As a gesture the father should have brought her daughter today at the court, the Chief Justice said and observed: "We have trusted him, but he has not trusted us." It seems the father is not cooperating, the Chief Justice said.
At one time the court suggested that parents should devise some via media to ensure that their daughter could meet her estranged parents once after three months.
However, Malik Qayyum, representing the father argued that it was difficult to convince Misbah to go to Scotland as she was only 12 years old.
Later, Ms Ellahi explained to Dawn that her client had decided not to continue because the custody battle in courts had fatigued the mother, both physically and psychologically and she was not in a good health.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 10: The mother of 12-year-old Misbah Irum Rana – who is at the centre of a custody tussle between her parents – told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that she was ready to drop her claim.
