KARACHI: Teenager Dua Zehra appeared before a 10-member medical board on Saturday after a Karachi court mandated that her age be determined following her alleged abduction.
Dua, who went missing in Karachi and was later found married in Punjab, appeared before the medical board formed by the Sindh Health Department. The board consists of specialist doctors and is headed by Dow Medical Principal Professor Saba Sohail.
The board will conduct various tests and x-rays, while other official documents including the teenager’s birth certificate would also be checked.
The Sindh Police shifted Dua Zehra from Lahore to Karachi for medical treatment earlier.
Provincial Health Secretary Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah directed the Sindh Government Services Hospital MS to take specific steps to form a medical board. Sindh Government Services Hospital’s MS on June 28, informed all the experts in the medical board that the report of the board will be sealed and sent to the secretary.
It should be noted that the Lady MLO in the Civil Hospital had sent a report to the Health Department regarding the age of Dua earlier, upon which her father approached the court. After that, the court directed the department secretary to form a special medical board to determine the age of the teenager.
Earlier, the Judicial Magistrate court Karachi east on Saturday rejected Dua Zehra’s father’s plea to change the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case.
According to details, the JM court Karachi east dismissed Mehdi Ali Kazmi’s plea to change the investigation officer saying the C class report of the IO has not been accepted yet.
The court said that Dua Zehra is yet to be presented to the medical board and it would not possible to change the IO at such a crucial stage. On Tuesday, the girl’s father filed a petition in court demanding a change of the investigation officer of the case. The court rejected his plea on Saturday.
The girl has been brought to Karachi where she will be presented before a special medical board formed by the Sindh government.
On the court’s orders, a 10-member medical board had been formed to examine Dua Zehra and determine her age. The anti-violent crime cell (AVCC) on Saturday secured custody of Dua Zehra to present her before the medical board in Karachi.
Zaheer Ahmed, the spouse of Dua, has also reached Karachi, however, he would not be allowed to appear before the medical board alongside her wife.
