LAHORE: A judicial magistrate on Saturday allowed the Sindh police to take the custody of Dua Zahra, a Karachi girl who contracted marriage against the will of her family, from Darul Aman and safely produce her before a trial court of Karachi.

Magistrate Rizwan Ahmad passed the order after hearing contention of a police official from Sindh and a counsel of the girl’s father.

The official stated that there was a case registered with the Karachi police about the alleged abduction of Zahra. He said the Sindh High Court and a judicial magistrate concerned ordered the police to recover the girl and produce her before the trial court.

Advocate Fahad Siddiqui, the father’s counsel, argued that a medical board in Karachi, after a thorough examination, declared the girl was legally minor. He asked the magistrate to allow the police to take the girl to Karachi for her production before the court.

The magistrate allowed the request and also directed the police team to ensure that no person from both sides (girl and her husband’s family) would get a chance to meet the girl till her production before the magistrate of Karachi.

Previously, the magistrate dismissed a request of the girl’s father to shift her from the Darul Aman to the Child Protection & Welfare Bureau of Lahore.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2022