CHAKWAL, July 5: A newlywed couple against whom a Fatwa was recently issued by three clerics here lives in terror confined to the four walls of their house.

The three brother clerics belonging to an influential family declared the couple 'Wajibul Qatal' (deserved to be killed) through the loudspeakers of mosques. The clerics are currently on an interim bail.

Maryam Khatoon, a resident of Thoa Mahram Khan village in Talagang, married Naveed Aslam after getting Khula (divorce) from her first husband through a court of law. The clerics, Abdul Qayum, his brothers Abdul Ghafoor and Abdul Qadoos issued the Fatwa during Friday prayer on June 24 and also asked the villagers to socially boycott them. Sensing the danger to their lives, the couple got an FIR registered against the clerics in the Saddar police station.

“They are pressuring us to stop the legal proceedings against them otherwise we have to face dire consequences,” Maryam told this correspondent. She said they were not stepping out of their house fearing threat to their lives. She said her first husband, who was also her cousin, used to beat her. “My first husband Shaukat Ali and his brother Sikendar used to torture me. I was not allowed to meet my mother. That's why I got divorce from him and married Naveed with the consent of my family. A cleric Ismail Shah also refused to solemnise our Nikah on June 11 and the Baraat returned, causing disgrace to me and my family,” she added. She said she married Naveed a few days later in a court of Talagang city.

“We belong to a poor family and cannot challenge the clerics and other influential persons. The Maliks of the area are pressuring us and the police to withdraw the case against the clerics,” Naveed added.

Talking to this correspondent, Advocate Akbar, the counsel for the couple, said the influential people of the area were trying to thwart the legal proceedings. He said due to the pressure from the politicians and other influential persons, police have not yet submitted the chalan of the case to the court.

A police official requesting anonymity said pressure was being built on the police by the influential persons.

When contacted, SHO Syed Azhar Hassan said the next hearing of the case was on July 9. “We are facing certain problems but the law would take its course,” he added. He said nobody was ready to stand witness against the three clerics.