LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has directed police to recover a young married girl allegedly abducted by tribesmen of Darra Adam Khel for Vani to settle a murder committed by a security guard of her father.

Amanat Ali Shaheen, grandfather of abducted girl Saman Raza, filed a habeas corpus petition and listed the inspector general of Punjab police and station house officers of Sanda and Gujrat Kunjah police stations as parties.

Advocate Shahid Abrar Basra represented the petitioner and told the court that a security guard deputed at the filling station of the girl’s father had killed a man of the tribesmen in 2008. He pointed out that the girl had no connection with her father since he divorced her mother and settled in the United Kingdom after marrying another woman.

The counsel said a couple of days ago, five tribesmen barged into the Sanda house of the petitioner and took the girl away with them. He said the kidnappers told the petitioner that they were taking the girl with them to fulfill Vani decision made by their local tribal elders.

He said the petitioner recognised three of the kidnappers as he had an interaction with them during a dispute resolution process with the tribal leaders regarding the murder.

He contended that the girl was still in illegal custody of the respondents who reportedly had kept her in Kunjah village of Gujrat from where she would be transported to Darra Adam Khel.

The lawyer asked the court to order the police to recover the girl from illegal custody of the tribesmen and produce her in the court.

Justice Farooq Haider directed the Kunjah SHO to recover the girl and produce her on May 13.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2019