KARACHI: A local court in Karachi on Friday directed the police to move Dua Zehra Kazmi, a teenaged Karachi girl who says she eloped but whose parents deny it, from Punjab to Sindh and produce her on the next hearing of a closely watched case.
The parents of Kazmi, who had gone missing from her home in Karachi on April 16, say she is underage and was “kidnapped,” but the girl told a Sindh High Court (SHC) judge last month she had married Zaheer Ahmed, 21, of her “free will.”
The girl had been “secured” at a shelter home in Punjab and the Sindh government had been requested to return her to her parents, a top official said on Tuesday, ending months of drama in the closely-watched case that has divided public opinion about which side, Kazmi or her parents, were telling the truth.
According to a copy of an application by Kazmi submitted in a Lahore court, the teenager had said she had separated from her husband and had no protection and needed to be sent to a shelter home. The application was shared by Jibran Nasir, who represents Kazmi’s parents, on social media. It was unclear when Kazmi submitted the application.
On Friday, the trial court ordered the Sindh police to bring the teenager back to Karachi.
“The Investigation officer is hereby directed to produce the victim namely Dua Zahra, under the protection on the next date fixed for submission of final report i-e 01.08.2022, so the matter may be proceeded accordingly,” a written order by the East judicial magistrate read.
At the time of her disappearance, Kazmi resided with her family in Pakistan’s Sindh province, where the Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act, 2013 prohibits the marriage of a child under the age of 18 and provides penalties for a male contracting party, the person who solemnizes the marriage as well as the parent or guardian concerned.
But in Punjab, where Kazmi married Ahmed, the legal age of marriage is 16.
Citing section 16 of the Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act in Friday's hearing, the judge said it was very much clear when confidential information is brought by any person acting in benefit of a minor that an offence with regard to the act has been committed, the court has to ensure their production for protection against victimization.
“In this regard the order of Honourable High Court of Sindh has clearly issued the directions to investigation officer for shifting the victim/witness namely Dua Zahra from Lahore to Karachi and production of the minor before this court/trial court for further orders for custody and protection of minor/victim and disposal of the case,” the order read.
"In view of the order of Honourable High Court of Sindh this application filed by the real mother of the minor/witness, acting in best interest of minor, is allowed."
Kazmi's mother had requested the court to shift her from the shelter home in Lahore to Karachi.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Saeed Rind, the investigating officer of the case, said a Sindh police team was in Punjab to comply with the court orders, but did not specify when Kazmi would be brought to her home city.
“All I can say at the moment is that a team of Sindh police is in Punjab,” he told Arab News. “I cannot share more details.”
Jibran Nasir, who represents Kazmi's family, said police must be asked why the child had not been recovered despite the court's directions.
“The police have no legal hurdles and there are clear judicial directions, but the police have been unable to bring Dua Zehra to Karachi,” Nasir told Arab News.
Nasir also alleged that unauthorized individuals had been allowed to meet the girl at the Lahore shelter home.
But Salman Sufi, head of the Pakistan prime minister’s strategic reforms, said on Twitter the girl had been kept safe and no one except the court-authorized persons were allowed to meet her.
