SHC orders medical examination of Dua Zehra

KARACHI: Police on Monday presented the missing teenage girl from Karachi, Dua Zehra, and her alleged husband Zaheer Ahmed before the Sindh High Court (SHC), a day after they were held by police from Bahawalnagar, ARY NEWS reported.

The girl and her alleged husband were brought to the SHC under strict security after the police could not present them before a local court owing to protest at the City Court over a dispute between lawyers and court staff.

During the hearing before a Sindh High Court bench, Dua Zehra denied that she was abducted by Zaheer Ahmed and said that she lives with her husband. When the court asked her age, the girl replied that she is 18-year-old.

She further responded to the court’s queries by saying that she was recovered from Chishtian and wanted to go with Zaheer Ahmed.

Advocate General Sindh during the hearing said that the girl left the province on her own and married in Punjab province. “There is no violation of underage marriage law since the marriage was solemnized in Punjab,” he said.

During the hearing, counsel representing the girl’s father said that she was 14-year-old as per the record of the birth certificate and the court should give them some time and allow her to meet her parents.

The girl, however, refused to meet her parents and said that she wanted to go with Zaheer Ahmed.

To this, the judge said that the girl is standing before them and saying that she has not been abducted. “How can we force her to meet anyone,” Justice Junaid Ghaffar said and added that they understand the worries of the parents but had to prioritize the legal process.

He however directed the authorities to conduct a medical examination of the girl to determine her age and send her to a shelter home.

Earlier in the day, Dua Zehra and her husband were shifted to Karachi after being nabbed by police from Bahawalnagar yesterday.

According to police, the two have been shifted to Karachi with Dua Zehra being handed over to ladies police. “The alleged husband of Dua Zehra, Zaheer Ahmed is in the protective custody of AVCC,” they said, adding that both of them would be presented before the court today.

Karachi police in a joint operation with Punjab police rescued the missing teenage girl from Bahawalnagar and arrested her husband Zaheer and the facilitator sheltering them.

Dua’s father, after filing a case, had requested the court to declare the marriage of her daughter and Zaheer Ahmed on April 17 as illegal.

He said that according to the date of birth, she was less than 14 years old at the time of marriage. Underage marriage is a crime under the Child Marriage Act 2013. According to NADRA records, she is 13 years old.