KARACHI: A judicial magistrate (Central) ordered on Thursday that the custody of a minor boy and his sister, who had gone missing in North Nazimabad, be temporarily granted to their maternal aunt.

The children had expressed the desire to reside with their reportedly unmarried maternal aunt, Farheen Naz, alias Sonia, who lives in a separate home.

The court also directed the authorities concerned to include the name of the maternal aunt along with the minors, in the exit control list (ECL).

Additionally, the court ordered the SSP-Central to assign an officer to promptly ascertain the maternal aunt’s residential address and ensure that the minors were not taken out of the jurisdiction of the police station concerned.

Despite passage of two days, mother yet to return to the country, court told; judge rejects pleas by father, maternal uncle for their custody

The judge ordered the submission of a weekly compliance report in this regard.

Furthermore, the court also emphasised the uninterrupted continuation of the children’s schooling as well.

The strange case of the two siblings’ disappearance came to light after the 12-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister left their residence in Block-H on Tuesday night to purchase burgers. Subsequently, they were reportedly taken to someone’s home, and later on, they were found near a shopping mall in North Nazimabad.

A citizen informed the police about their presence, after which the police rushed to the spot and took them to the police station.

Children deny abduction claim

On Thursday, the siblings were brought before Judicial Magistrate (Central) Jahanzeb Soomro to record their statements under Section 164 of the criminal procedure code.

In their statement, both the siblings reiterated their earlier version in which they had complained that at home they had been subjected to an undesirable attitude by their maternal aunt and grandmother.

Disheartened by the behaviour, they left home on their own after quarrelling with their maternal aunt.

However, they vehemently denied claims of abduction or kidnapping and expressed the willingness to reside with their maternal aunt Farheen.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Rashid, the father of the minors, filed an application through his counsel Zahid Hussain Soomro, seeking custody of his children as their legal guardian.

Advocate Zahid argued that the custody had previously been granted to the mother following the parents’ separation in 2015, but since then, the mother had relocated to the UAE, leaving the minors in the care of their aunt and grandmother, who subjected them to mistreatment.

He further pointed out the absence of the mother for the past two days and highlighted their dropping out of school since the Covid-19 outbreak.

Stressing the potential risk to the minors’ well-being under the custody of their maternal aunt, the counsel requested the court to consider the father as the biological and legal guardian and grant him custody in the best interest of the children.

On the other hand, Yasir Suddozai, counsel for the maternal uncle, argued that since the separation, the father had not provided any financial support and initially expressed no objection to the custody arrangement.

He noted that the minors had been living with their maternal uncle for the past two years, and the father was unaware of their children.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court rejected the application of the father and granted temporary custody to Farheen, against a surety bond of 500,000 each, and instructed her to produce the minors as directed by the court.

Free education pledged

Later, former federal minister and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Dr Asim Hussain met the two siblings and announced that from now on the Dr Ziauddin Hospital Trust would bear the cost and expenses of their education.

The two children would be given free admission to the Dr Ziauddin School where they would be provided with course material, books, etc, and uniforms for free until their graduation, according to a statement.

The children have never gone to school since the outbreak of covid-19 epidemic in the country.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2024