KARACHI, April 22: A man asked by the Sindh High Court on Monday to produce his 18-month-old child failed to appear on Thursday and the court gave him another opportunity to comply with its order on April 27 before being coerced into doing so.

Pervez Hussain Qureshi and Rehana Qureshi, parents of respondent Khurram Shehzad, appeared in response to the court notice but stated that they had nothing to do with the dispute between their son and his petitioner wife, Saadia Qureshi. They said they did not want to be involved in the controversy and requested the court to allow them to keep away from the proceedings.

Saadia broke down as Justice Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, who is seized of the petition, was informed by the process server that Khurram had gone to Lahore with their child, Hamza. The report was based on information given to the bailiff by the parents. The judge wondered how an infant could be taken from Karachi to Lahore by his own father to evade the process of court.

Advocate Khwaja Naveed Ahmed requested that a non-bailable warrant be issued to compel the respondent to appear and produce the child. The court observed that it would not allow the respondent to flee justice but requirements of law had to be fulfilled.

The court knew how to ensure compliance with its orders. Before adopting the coercive method, the judge asked the bailiff to paste a copy of the court order on the outer gate of Pervez Qureshi's residence of in Defence Housing Society, where the respondent lived with his parents.

Khurram worked as engineer in the United States and Saadia was studying there when they decided to marry. The marriage was solemnised in Karachi in 2001 and the couple returned to the United States soon after the ceremony. Hamza was born in Chicago in 2002.

The couple came to Karachi with the child in January and their relations strained during their stay here. Khurram sent Saadia back to the United States, promising to return with Hamza in due course.

Saadia approached a US court in March when Khurram failed to return. The court ordered Khurram to return the child's custody to the mother. She came to Karachi and approached the SHC for further legal redress.