ISLAMABAD: Uzma Quyyum, 26, the girl who is allegedly detained at Jamia Hafsa, the women’s seminary at Lal Masjid, will appear before a sessions court on Thursday (today).

Federal police received orders from the court on Wednesday to produce the girl and is making efforts to contact the management of Jamia Hafsa to ensure that the girl appears before the court. The girl’s father, Sheikh Muhammad Qayyum, is hoping for a chance to see his daughter for the first time in almost seven months.

On December 29, 2014, he filed an application with the Human Rights Cell (HRC) of Supreme Court, alleging that his daughter is being kept at the seminary against her will.

He said his daughter had been taken away by Umme Hassan, the wife of cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, from the seminary Jamia Binaat-i-Ayesha in Rawalpindi where she was a student.

Mr Quyyum said pressure from him forced Umme Hassan to take a girl to a magistrate and have a statement recorded in which Uzma Quyyum stated that she was staying at Jamia Hafsa out of her own will.

However, Umme Hassan did not allow him to meet his daughter.

Umme Hassan stated that the girl was not willing to live with her father out of fear that he will molest her. Furthermore, she said that Uzma does not wish to marry her fiancé Muhammad Imran with whom her parents have arranged a marriage because the girl’s Istikhara (seeking divine guidance) with regards to marriage did not appear positive.

High Court Advocate Muhammad Haider Imtiaz, who is defending Mr Quyyum’s case in the Supreme Court, told Dawn that the Supreme Court ordered sessions judge Nazir Ahmad Gujana to investigate the matter and submit a report before the court.

Police ordered to produce the girl in court at 8am on Thursday morning

“In Wednesday’s hearing, three lawyers - Raja Amim, Awais Awan and myself - were defending Mr Quyyum. The court instructed the Aabpara police to produce the girl before the court on Thursday at 8am,” he said.

The advocate said the lawyers requested the court to arrange a meeting between Mr Quyyum and his daughter as in the past the Jamia Hafsa management had not allowed him to meet her and the guards at the seminary had physically attacked him.

“Thanks to the court orders, the father will now be able to meet his daughter,” he said.

He explained that the court had powers to record the girl’s statement under Section 164 to ascertain whether she wanted to live with her family or remain at the seminary.

“Alternatively, the court can also order for the girl to be counselled for a few days before her statement is recorded,” he added.

The girl’s father, while talking to Dawn, said he had been waiting for the last seven months to meet his daughter and now he hopes to finally be able to see her on Thursday.

“It’s unfair that I live some 15kilometres away from Lal Masjid but because of the influence of Maulana Abdul Aziz I am unable to meet my own daughter. I will be at the court at 8am sharp,” said Mohammad Quyyum.

“All my efforts of recovering my daughter have failed. The Supreme Court is the biggest forum for justice in the land so I hope that the matter will finally be resolved,” he said.

Station House Officer (SHO) of the Aabpara Police Station Khalid Awan confirmed that the police received court orders under Section 491 on Wednesday.

“Under the court orders police are bound to produce the girl before the court so we will ensure that she is present in court on Thursday morning,” he said.

Umme Hassan told Dawn that police had not contacted her until the filing of this report.

“I am a law abiding citizen and if the court has ordered to produce the girl, she will be handed over to the police to have her taken to the court and record her statement. No representative of Lal Masjid will go with the girl because that is not required. If the girl wants to live with her family I have no objection,” she said.

In April 2012, the Supreme Court heard a similar case where the families of three Hindu women, who married Muslims, were alleging that their daughters had been kidnapped.

The Supreme Court gave the women the power to decide their future and all three refused to return to their families.

Published in Dawn January 15th , 2015

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