KARACHI
\nJudicial Magistrate Karachi-East on Saturday ordered the secretary health to form a new medical board in order to ascertain the exact age of Dua Zahra, the Karachi girl who had fled to Punjab to marry the boy of her choice named Zaheer.
\nThe magistrate, in his remarks, said the court had nothing to do with as to at which place the girl should undergo the medical test; that was for the prosecution to decide. Earlier, Mehdi Kazmi, Dua\u2019s father, and his lawyer Jibran Nasir appeared in the court.
\nInvestigation Officer (IO) in the case Shaukat Shahani and the government\u2019s counsel also showed up. Advocate Jibran gave arguments on the challan.
\nLater talking to the media, IO Shahani said that the charge of kidnapping against Zaheer could not be proved in the investigation. \u201cIt especially became evident after Dua\u2019s statement,\u201d he said, adding that he and members of his team had investigated the case from all angles.
\n\u201cThe girl had contracted the marriage of her free will,\u201d he said, and added, \u201cBoth of them had met each other on PUBG following which they decided to marry; hence this is not the case of kidnapping at all.\u201d
\nThe IO said that he would again look at the case after he received a copy of the Supreme Court on it.
\nA big relief came for Dua Zahra two days ago on Thursday, June 23, 2022 when the Supreme Court (SC) rejected her father\u2019s petition against the Sindh High Court (SHC) verdict and disposed of the case when the latter told the court that he wanted to withdraw it.
\nA three-member bench of the SC\u2019s Karachi Registry, consisting of Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, in their remarks said that Dua was a human, and that she should be treated like a human being and not herded like cattle.
\nNow when she had married the boy of her choice, the apex court could not do anything in the case, they told Mehdi Kazmi, her father. They also made it clear to him that his daughter\u2019s case was by no means that of \u2018kidnapping\u2019 or \u2018harassment\u2019.
\nThe SC judges also conveyed to him that even if a girl, under 16 years of age, contracted marriage, her Nikah remained valid. It remains valid even under the law passed by the Sindh Assembly, they said, and added what they could do when her girl had refused to go with him even after the meeting.
\nThe SC also directed Kazmi to approach appropriate forums if he wanted the constitution of a medical board. The court told the petitioner that the case did not fall in its purview.
\nLater talking to the media, Mehdi Kazmi\u2019s counsel Jibran Nasir admitted that Dua\u2019s nikah nama was not forged one. \u201cAt no forum has it been proved \u2018fake\u2019,\u201d he added.
\nNow, he added, he and his client could approach the relevant forums for the formation of a medical board. \u201cWe will raise the age factor of the girl in the trial court afresh,\u201d he informed.
\n\u201cWe will request the secretary health for the formation of a new board. And we are pretty much sure that its report will be in our favour,\u201d he concluded.
\nThe Sindh High Court had on June 8, 2022 allowed Dua to make a decision as per her free will, adding she can live with whosoever she chooses.
\nHowever, the court after observing progress in case against Dua\u2019s husband directed police to submit a challan against Zaheer in the court.
\nIn the three-page order, Justice Junaid Ghaffar said the court had reached the verdict in line with the testimonies. \u201cIn light of all the evidence, this is not the case of kidnapping,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI Judicial Magistrate Karachi-East on Saturday ordered the secretary health to form a new medical board in order to ascertain the exact age of Dua Zahra, the Karachi girl who had fled to Punjab to marry the boy of her choice named Zaheer. The magistrate, in his remarks, said the court had nothing to do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[44,8999,9000],"class_list":{"0":"post-268152","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national","8":"tag-court","9":"tag-dua-zahra","10":"tag-medical-board"},"yoast_head":"\n