Dua Zahra’s alleged spouse moves SHC for protection, unfreezing of bank accounts

The Sindh High Court on Friday issued notices to the attorney general of Pakistan, the advocate general Sindh and others on petitions filed by the alleged spouse and brother-in-law of Dua Zahra, seeking protection and unfreezing the bank accounts of their family members.

Zaheer Ahmed, alleged spouse of Zahra, a Karachi-based teenage girl who married Ahmed of her free will, and her brother-in-law Shabbir Ahmed, submitted in the petitions that national identity cards of the family members were blocked and their bank accounts were frozen on the request of the police when they were tracing missing Zahra.

Their counsel submitted that after the recovery of Zahra, the case was disposed of and the high court allowed the teenage girl to decide with whom she intended to reside. They said police and other authorities were approached for the unblocking of the national identity cards of the family members of the petitioners, and unfreezing of their bank accounts, but no action was taken in this regard.

He said that due to the blocking of the ID cards, and the freezing of bank accounts of the petitioners and his family members. they were suffering an irreparable loss and there was not possible to run their livelihood. He submitted that the act of the respondents was contrary to the fundamental rights of the petitioners and liable to be struck down. The court was requested to direct the ministry of finance and the State Bank of Pakistan to immediately unblock the CNICs and unfreeze the bank accounts of the petitioners and family members.

In another petition filed by Zaheer Ahmed, the petitioners submitted that the family of Zahra was trying to break his sacred tie with Zahra with a mala fide intention and ulterior motives. He submitted that police had earlier disposed of the case against him after the statement of his wife that she had not been kidnapped. He submitted that police had again started an investigation on basis of a medical board report and police authorities were bent upon arresting him.

He requested the court to restrain the police from arresting him in the offence during the validity of the protective bail, which he obtained from a court of the law, and directed the police to provide necessary protection and possible safety to him due to the extraordinary hype created by his in-laws in social media. A division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro, after the preliminary hearing of the petitions, issued notices to the federal and provincial law officers, the Sindh IGP and others and called their comments on July 29.

Production order

A judicial magistrate on Friday directed the police to produce Dua Zahra in the court on August 1 when a case pertaining to her alleged abduction and underage marriage is fixed for hearing. The teenage girl had gone missing from her Malir Halt home in April and later emerged in Punjab where she claimed she had contracted a freewill marriage with a man, Zaheer Ahmed.

Saima Kazmi, Zahra’s mother, through her lawyer Muhammad Jibran Nasir filed an application before Judicial Magistrate-XXVI (East) Aftab Ahmed Bughio, seeking directives for the authorities concerned to shift her daughter to a child protection centre in Karachi and produce her before the court.

The counsel said that under Rule 9 of the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Rules 2016, the magistrate, having the jurisdiction of the police station where the incident was reported, can issue an order for the minor girl to be produced in the court if he feels that any offence under the Child Marriage Protection Act 2013 could be committed.

He said that the Sindh High Court on Thursday granted a plea of Zahra’s parents, seeking the shifting of the girl from Lahore to Karachi where her guardians are residing and the case is pending. Nasir said strangers were seeking permission to meet Zahra at the Darul Aman in Lahore, which creates possibility of the girl being pressurised.

The state prosecutor, Muhammad Younus, said the investigating officer had been issued directives for compliance with the SHC order.

Citing Rule 16 of the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Rules 2016, the magistrate said that in a case where confidential information is brought by any person acting in the interest of a minor that an offence under the law might be committed, the court has to ensure her or his production in the order to protect her or him from being victimised.

Noting that the SHC has already issued directives for shifting the girl from Lahore to Karachi, he directed the new investigation officer, Saeed Rind, to produce Zahra before him on the next date of hearing when the matter is fixed for the submission of the final charge sheet.

A day ago, the SHC ruled that Zahra cannot be permitted to live on her own after being separated from her spouse till she attains majority and the pending case in Karachi is finally disposed of.