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LARKANA, Feb 9: The judicial magistrate-I of Warah on Saturday handed over Tasleem, 3, and Ferzana, 4, who were reportedly wedded to boys their age, to their father Niaz Mirjat, released the boys on bail and remanded the cleric who had solemnised the nikah in police custody for five days.
The minor girls were reportedly given in marriage as compensation to settle a dispute over alleged adultery charges after a jirga held by one Attur Mirjat decided so.
“We are unaware of solemnising of nikah,” the boys told journalists as the girls’ uncle accused their influential rivals of issuing them threats and pressing for solemnising the marriage of the children.
Deedar Mirjat, the father of boys Abdul Rasool Mirjat and Muhammed Saleh Mirjat, said that girls’ party had brought to him Holy Quran to convince him into accepting the girls after nikah.
Police found out about the under-age marriage of the girls on Thursday in Hamal. The SHO of Warah filed an FIR on behalf of state against six people including the boy’s father Deedar and cleric Yar Muhammed Mirjat.
Four other accused nominated in the FIR Attur Mirjat, Ghulam Mustafa Mirjat, Hassan Mirjat and Bhooro Mirjat were still at large.
MUMTAZ: Sindh National Front Chairman Mumtaz Ali Bhutto has expressed his dissatisfaction over the report of Scotland Yard team on the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto and said that a UN-led body should probe the murder.
Talking to Dawn here on Saturday he said it was impossible to reach conclusion without a post-mortem report.
He said the Scotland Yard team should spell out the reasons and grounds on which it based its findings.
Mr Mumtaz said that the two women who had performed the final rites of Ms Bhutto had seen two wounds on her neck and head.
He said it was strange that the PPP said the post-mortem was the responsibility of the government while on the other hand Asif Zardari said he had asked the government to not to carry out the post-mortem.
He also denied reports that Sindh National Front had merged in PPP (Shaheed Bhutto).
He said they were engaged in talks but it did not mean that SNF would merge in PPP-SB.
