LAHORE: In the first such case to be reported in Pakistan, a young woman has appealed to Islamabad’s top court to “disown her father” and remove his name from all official documents.
The woman, 22, whose name has been withheld for reasons of anonymity, said that she was unable to obtain a legal status as she had yet to apply for a national identity card or a passport – something which resulted from her father’s decision to disown her and abandon the family.
In a statement, detailing her experiences, she asked the court to “please remove my father’s name from my birth certificate and all of my educational degrees and other documents”, adding that she seeks “to renounce any association with her father’s name”. Joined by her mother, who spoke on her behalf, the woman lamented the law which allows fathers to disown children but not the other way around.
The fact that these laws do not exist is something which gives corporate lawyer Maria Tahir the hope that the issue might get an audience.
“This is an extremely interesting development because guardianship and disassociation in Pakistan are brought under Islamic Law and not under secular law. This is the first time that such a case has been brought to the supreme court …you can imagine how much difficulty she must have faced just trying to get basic documents,” she said.
Nadine Murtaza, a single mother, and educator living in Islamabad, has borne the brunt of not having a male guardian acting as a sponsor. Questioning the gender inequality in allotting a woman a legal and individual status, she said that if earlier she was “the child of my parents, once married I became the wife of my husband but he did not become my husband? Sometimes I think it’s so frustrating that I can’t be both parents for my children,” she said.
She narrates an experience where a friend went through a similar struggle.
“I have a colleague who left her husband because he was psychologically ill. Her daughter needed to take the SAT exams for which she needed a new passport. In order to get one, she needed the father’s approval. This is despite the fact that my friend supports the girl and does not receive any financial support from her husband. The father refused and withheld permission, just because he could. There is so much room for people to really abuse their position of power, and that position can be that of a biological father,” Murtaza said.
The case refused to see the light of day because it was never brought to court. However, in the case of the woman trying to disown her father, the hearing has been adjourned with the Director-General of Projects for Nadra, Zulfiqar Ali, summoned to track the father down.
Pakistan woman moves court to “disown father”
Pakistan woman moves court to “disown father”
- Seeks to remove his name from all official documents
- Cites trouble in procuring national ID card, passport
Islamabad steps up vehicle checks to boost security as 166,000 cars get electronic tags
- Authorities say over 3,000 vehicles registered in past 24 hours as enforcement intensifies
- Extended service hours introduced to push full compliance with digital monitoring system
ISLAMABAD: Authorities in the Pakistani capital have intensified enforcement against vehicles without mandatory electronic tags with more than 166,000 cars now registered, according to data released on Sunday evening, as Islamabad moves to strengthen security and digital monitoring at key entry and exit points.
The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration introduced the electronic tagging system late last year as part of a broader effort to regulate traffic, improve record-keeping and enhance surveillance in a city that hosts the country’s main government institutions, foreign missions and diplomatic enclaves.
Under the system, vehicles are fitted with electronic tags that can be read automatically by scanners installed at checkpoints across the capital, allowing authorities to identify unregistered vehicles without manual inspections. Vehicles already equipped with a motorway tag, or m-tag, are exempt from the requirement.
“A total of 166,888 vehicles have successfully been issued M-Tags so far, including 3,130 vehicles in the last 24 hours,” the ICT administration said, according to the Excise Department.
Officials said readers installed at checkpoints across Islamabad are fully operational and are being used to stop vehicles still without tags, as enforcement teams carry out checks across the city.
To facilitate compliance, authorities have expanded installation facilities and extended operating hours. The Excise Department said m-tag installation is currently available at 17 booth locations, while select centers have begun operating beyond normal working hours.
According to Director General Excise Irfan Memon, m-tag centers at 26 Number Chungi and 18 Meel are providing services round the clock, while counters at Kachnar Park and F-9 Park remain open until midnight to accommodate motorists unable to visit during daytime hours.
Officials said the combination of enforcement and facilitation was aimed at achieving full compliance with minimal disruption, adding that operations would continue until all vehicles operating in the capital are brought into the system.
The enforcement drive builds on a wider push by the federal government to integrate traffic management, emergency response and security monitoring through technology-driven “safe city” initiatives. Last month, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reviewed Islamabad’s surveillance infrastructure and said reforms in monitoring systems and the effective use of technology were the “need of the hour.”
Authorities have urged motorists to obtain electronic tags promptly to avoid delays and penalties at checkpoints as enforcement continues across the capital.
