KARACHI: A day after the Sindh High Court allowed Dua Zehra to decide whom she was intending to reside or go along with, a judicial magistrate on Thursday allowed Nimra Kazmi to live with her husband of her own free will.

Nimra went missing from her Saudabad home in April and emerged in Dera Ghazi Khan claiming that she had solemnised free-will marriage with Shahrukh Najeeb.

Dua Zehra and Nimra Kazmi’s disappearances from Karachi and their purported marriages in Punjab had exposed the Sindh and Punjab police to strong criticism on social media and sparked debates on poor enforcement of laws restricting marriages of girls under 18.

On Thursday, the police produced both girls before judicial magistrates concerned at the City Courts.

Police take Dua Zehra to Lahore

Dua Zehra was brought to the court of Judicial Magistrate (East) Aftab Ahmed Bughio, who was supposed to record her statement. However, police hurriedly took her to Lahore without allowing her to give her statement under Section 164 of the criminal procedure code.

Nimra was produced before Judicial Magistrate Fahmida Sahoowal, who recorded her statement.

Wearing a red shawl, Ms Kazmi appeared confident and deposed that she was 18 years old and she was not kidnapped by Shahrukh, as alleged by her parents.

She submitted that she left her parents’ home of her own free choice and solemnised marriage with Shahrukh without any duress or pressure.

When the magistrate inquired whether she wanted to go with her husband or parents, she replied that she wanted to go with her husband and not her parents.

After recording her statement, the magistrate directed Shahrukh to deposit a solvent surety of Rs500,000 if he wanted to take the girl with him.

The magistrate also asked Shahrukh to approach the district and sessions judge concerned to file his application for grant of post-arrest bail.

Earlier, the magistrate came down hard on the IO for not submitting the charge sheet in the case.

Shahrukh’s counsel maintained that since the marriage was solemnised in Punjab, where the age of marriage was 16 years, thus the incorporation of sections of the Sindh Child Marriage Restrain Act, 2013 in the charge sheet was unnecessary.

12 suspects released in Dua Zehra case

A judicial magistrate (East) discharged and released 12 suspects — said to be relatives of Dua’s spouse Zaheer Ahmed — who were detained for allegedly facilitating the girl’s kidnapping.

The magistrate ordered release of Asif, Maqbool Ahmed, Nazeer Ahmed, Muhammad Anees, Asghar, Jahangir, Muhammad Umer, Qadeer, Muhammad Ahmed, Ghulam Mustafa, Ghulam Nabi and an elderly woman Fida Bibi upon executing personal bonds.

However, the court remanded in judicial custody cleric Ghulam Mustafa, who had allegedly solemnised the marriage, and Ali Asghar, a witness to the marriage.

The IO was directed to produce them on the next date along with an investigation report.

Earlier, DSP Shaukat submitted that Zaheer Ahmed was using a SIM registered in the name of his maternal aunt, Fida Bibi, who had also sheltered the couple. However, the elderly woman while bursting into tears denied the allegations saying she had not let the couple live in her house.

Published in Dawn,June 10th, 2022