A Maddening Affair

SHC orders a new medical board to evaluate Zehra Kazmi’s mental state

KARACHI: The mysterious case of a teenage girl, Zahra Kazmi, who had disappeared from an alley near her home in Karachi in April and later found to have married a young man in Punjab, has taken a new turn after questions have been raised on her mental fitness.

The psychiatrist deputed to evaluate Zahra’s mental condition stated during a hearing at the Sindh High Court that Zahra had shown signs of psychiatric disorder, after which the court has now ordered the health department to reconstitute a medical board for her psychiatric evaluation.

The decision has been issued by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar of SHC in an appeal filed by Zahra’s purported husband, Zaheer Ahmad, against the trial court’s order to conduct a medico-legal examination of Zahra.

Interestingly, one of the psychologists appointed to evaluate Zahra’s mental condition has herself been lately behaving in a way that has raised questions over her own mental stability.

The doctor, Dr Fatima Riaz of Lyari General Hospital, triggered a court room drama at the start of the hearing when she stepped up towards the bench to present a sealed envelope to the judge but was stopped by the court staff. She then started shouting, accusing Zahra’s father, Mehdi Kazmi, of approaching her to submit a report that would support his case, and that provincial minister Shahla Raza had threatened her if she didn’t.

Justice Panhwar tried to pacify her and assured her that the court will look into the alleged threats. He told her that she could not address the court directly and should submit her report through the provincial health department which had been assigned the task.

However, she insisted, and the court put her report on the record.

Advocate Jibran Nasir, who represented Zahra’s father, Mehdi Kazmi, in the case, strongly objected to Dr Fatima’s behaviour, stating that she had sent him several messages containing serious allegations against Zahra’s parents. She had also visited Mr Kazmi’s home as well, he said, and later alleged that Kazmi gave her gifts to get a favorable report. He said she was trying to make the process of Zahra’s psycho-analysis controversial.

Jibran Nasir apprised the court that pursuant to its order of 12 October, the Sindh Health Department had deputed Dr Fatima Riaz, a psychiatrist at the Lyari General Hospital, and Dr Uzma Ali, a Clinical Psychologist at Karachi University, to conduct a psy-chiatric evaluation of Zahra and submit their repot.

On 28 October, Dr Fatima started sending messages on WhatsApp to both Jibran Nasir, and Zahra’s father Mehdi Kazmi, he told the court. The messages were “very strange, nonsensical and even objectionable”, relating to global political conspiracies, the World War III, predicting Pakistan’s political future, and declaring Zahra as a robot, he said.

Dr Fatima also made personal allegations against her fellow medical board member, Dr Uzma Ali, Jibran Nasir said, quoting one message that read: “She (Dr Uzma) is from the opposite party … corrupt … only me valid.”

On 29 October, said Jibran Nasir, Dr Fatima made two frantic phone calls to him. In the first call, she rudely asked him when she was supposed to submit her report. Soon afterwards she called again, and this time she started crying, saying that her phone had been hacked and her life was in danger, saying the medical superintendent Lyari Gen-eral Hospital wanted to kill her.

The same day, she called Mehdi Kazmi and used offensive language against him and his daughter, Zahra, Jibran Nasir said. After that she arrived unannounced at Kazmi’s house and created a scene in the street when Kazmi refused to let her in. She then barged into Kazmi’s in-laws’ house which is located opposite to his.

He said that CCTV footage of this visit has been sent to Faiz Mangi, chief technical of-ficer of health department, who signed the notification of appointment of Dr Fatima Riaz on this case.

Jibran Nasir further claimed that he came to know that on the same day Dr Fatima had visited Dr Summaiya, the Police Surgeon Karachi, at her residence to discuss with her some confidential details of her examination of Zahra, and also repeated some of those “strange claims” about global conspiracy.

And then in another blatant violations of professional ethics, Dr Fatima sent him (Jibran) a handwritten copy of her report which she said she would be submitting in the court, he said.

Nasir stated that although a bare perusal of the said report would show that it favors the case of his client (Mehdi Kazmi), but given Dr Fatima’s mental state and actions, his client will not be able to trust any report submitted by her.

Nasir told the court that he had sent a formal complaint to the provincial health department detailing all these facts, with the plea that a proper qualified medical board be constituted to evaluate Zahra’s mental condition.

After hearing Jibran Nasir, Justice Panhwar disposed Zaheer Ahmad’s application against the trial court’s order. The trial court is proceeding against Zaheer, his brother, mother and other accused on charges of kidnapping Zahra Kazmi and contracting marriage with her in violation of the Child Marriage Restraint Act.