KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday reserved its verdict in a case involving the alleged kidnapping of Dua Zahra, a teenager who had mysteriously disappeared from Karachi in April but was later said to have married 21-year-old Zaheer Ahmed.
A two-member bench, headed by Justice Iqbal Kalhoro, heard the case.
Ahmed was produced in court at the outset of the hearing of the case filed by Zahra’s father Mehdi Kazmi, who accused the former of kidnapping his daughter from her house in the Alfalah neighbourhood of Karachi.
During the hearing, Justice Kalhoro remarked that Zahra must be brought to Karachi and the case will be heard here as she “went missing” from this city.
“There are shelter homes in Karachi as well where security arrangements will be made. There will be no threat to the girl in Karachi,” the judge remarked.
He asked Ahmed’s lawyer if he wants Zahra to not get shifted to Karachi. At this, the lawyer said the girl cannot be shifted to Karachi or forced to meet anyone if she doesn’t want to.
“Even the court cannot tell the girl to meet anyone,” he said.
At this, the court remarked that Zahra has been declared a minor and, therefore, her statement has no legal value. It, however, observed that no order to give the girl into her parents’ custody is being issued.
Meanwhile, the lawyers representing Sindh and the federal governments also favoured shifting Zahra to Karachi.
After this, the court reserved its verdict on Kazmi’s plea and said it will be announced later in the day.
A Lahore court on Tuesday sent Zahra to a shelter home following an order.
Zahra appeared before a magistrate’s court and claimed her life was in danger as her parents were threatening her. She also claimed that they used to physically abuse her in the past.
“My parents are threatening me with dire consequences,” she said, and pleaded to the court that she wanted to go to a shelter home.
