Dua Zahra is 15-16 years old, declares fresh medical report

KARACHI: The fresh medical report prepared on the court orders to determine the true age of Dua Zahra — who had gone missing from her Karachi residence in April but was later found to have married Zaheer Ahmed in Lahore — concluded on Monday that her age is between 15 to 16 years.

As per the details, a 10-member medical board on Monday submitted the report determining the age of the teenager in the court of judicial magistrate (East) ahead of the hearing of a case filed by Zahra's father Mehdi Ali Kazmi for the determination of her age.

Prof Saba Sohail, principal of the Dow Medical College, Karachi, was appointed as the head of the panel that also comprised Dr Sikandar Rafique Qureshi, head of the Radiology Department at the Lyari General Hospital, Dr Rani, consultant radiologist, and seven other medial experts as its members.

The tests to determine her age was conducted a second time over Kazmi's petition challenging an earlier test that suggested that the girl’s age was between 16 and 17.

Zahra’s age according to the fresh report is:

• On the basis of physical examination — 14-15 years
•  On the basis of dentition evaluation and OPG examination — 13-15 years
•  On the basis of epiphyseal closure assessed through radiological examination — 16-17

“The consensus opinion regarding the overall age of Ms Dua Zahra D/O Syed Mehdi Kazmi is between fifteen to sixteen (15-16) years, nearer to fifteen years, based on physical examination and dentition,” the report concluded.

The court will hold hearing on the case on July 7.

Earlier, the lawyer representing the father of the teenager also confirmed that the medical board's report of ossification and dentition tests performed on Dua Zahra has stated her age as "nearest to 15 years".

Taking to Twitter, Kazmi's lawyer and social rights activist Jibran Nasir said that the report has negated the results of the previous medical report that declared the girl to be 16-17 years of age.

He went on to say that the documents presented by Zahra's parents — according to which her age is under 15 years — have been proved true.

"Dua in reality is a 14yr child," Nasir said.

"The medical board has verified the truth which Parents have been telling since 2.5 months. As per the board Dua Zahra is nearest to 15 yrs of age negating the previous medical report which placed Dua at 17. Thus proven that NADRA documents are accurate and Dua in reality is a 14yr child," he wrote on Twitter.