ISLAMABAD: The Karachi police on Saturday informed a sessions court that 24 persons had been involved in abducting Dua Zehra Kazmi, who says she eloped but whose parents deny it, from Karachi in April and solemnizing her illegal child marriage in Punjab, in a closely watched case.  

The parents of Kazmi, who had gone missing on April 16, say she is underage and was "kidnapped," but the girl told a Sindh High Court (SHC) judge last month she was not abducted and had married Zaheer Ahmed, 21, of her “free will.” The high court ruled on June 8 that Kazmi could decide her own fate and disposed of the case. 

Kazmi's parents subsequently challenged the high court's verdict in the Supreme Court, which on June 25 ordered the formation of a new medical board to determine her age. The medical board on July 4 declared Kazmi to be between 15 and 16 years, closer to 15. 

On Saturday, the investigating officer (IO) of the case, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shaukat Ali Shahani, submitted a progress report to Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Mehboob Awan. The officer, who had previously recommended the trial court to dispose of the case, changed his earlier stance after "fresh" investigation into the matter, Dawn news website reported. 

"The statements of witnesses were recorded and the call data record (CDR) of the cell phone of suspect Zaheer was analysed, which showed his presence in Karachi on the day when Dua Zehra went missing," IO Shahani was quoted as stating in the report. 

"In the light of statements, circumstantial, medical and forensic evidence, held suspects cleric Hafiz Ghulam Mustafa and Asghar Ali and Zaheer Ahmed and his 21 absconding relatives had been found involved in committing the offence of kidnapping punishable under Section 363 of the Pakistan Penal Code and offence of solemnising child marriage punishable under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2013." 

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. 

The investigating officer further informed the judge that Kazmi was still not recovered and he had approached the Sindh home department for permission to travel to Lahore to obtain the custody of the girl and her purported husband, Ahmed, according to the Dawn report. 

While the laws determine the legal age of marriage in both provinces, they are silent on the validity of nikah (marriage contract) of underage spouses, according to legal experts.  

In several cases over the last few years, the courts have separated underage couples and sent the girls to shelter homes but did not nullify the nikah. 

The kidnapping and child marriage case filed by Kazmi's parents is fixed before a judicial magistrate in Karachi on July 20.