LAHORE: A judicial magistrate on Thursday dismissed a petition of police seeking an order for medical examination of Syeda Dua Zohra Kazmi, the girl allegedly kidnapped from Karachi, to determine her age.

The investigating officer (IO) of Karachi police filed the application before the magistrate of Lahore as the girl allegedly shifted to the city after marrying a boy.

The IO stated that the parents of the girl claimed that she was not a sui juris (legally major) and could not contract marriage under the law.

However, he said, the girl claimed that she was a major.

He asked the magistrate to order a medical examination of the girl so that her age could be determined.

The magistrate, however, dismissed the application of the police with an observation that such medical examination could not be allowed without the permission of the person concerned.

The magistrate also dismissed a private complaint filed by Ms Kazmi against her father and a cousin on charges of extending harassment to her and her husband. The court dismissed the complaint for non-prosecution.

In her complaint, Ms Kazmi alleged that her father had been forcing her to marry her cousin against her will. She said her parents used to beat her on refusal to marry the boy of their choice. She asked the court to order the police to take action against her parents for causing harassment to her and her husband.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2022