Court declares Dua Zehra’s husband, nikah khuwan, two witnesses absconders

KARACHI: Husband of Karachi’s teenage girl Dua Zehra, Zaheer Ahmed, their nikah khuwan (the cleric who solemnized their nikah) Ghulam Mustafa and two witnesses Shehzad and Asghar have been declared absconders by a lower court.

The Judicial Magistrate East held hearing of the case pertaining to alleged abduction of Dua Zehra on Saturday. The investigation officer submitted interim challan of the case to the court. Police have incorporated provisions of underage marriage and facilitation in this regard. The clauses of Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act have also been included in the case.

Names of prosecution’s six witnesses are included in police challan. According to the challan, police obtained surveillance camera footage of the relevant area in search of “abducted” Dua Zehra. “The camera footage did not show Dua Zehra,” read the challan.

Read more: Dua Zehra’s father pleads SHC for her recovery

It relayed that Dua Zehra rejected the report of her abduction and apprised about marriage of her own free will on April 17. She expressed the fear that there was a threat to her life in Karachi.

The probe officer sought time of 15 days from the court to conduct Dua Zehra’s medical.

It is pertinent to mention here that Dua Zehra went missing in April later to be found married to Zaheer Ahmed in Lahore.

The girl’s family approached the police hours after her disappearance and the case gained prominence through social media.

Dua Zehra was recovered days later from Lahore, safe and Nikahfied. However, the parents claimed that her marriage with Zaheer is illegal as the girl is not 18 years old yet.

Later, in a video message, the teenager requested her parents not to interfere in her personal life and claimed that she left her house willingly to get married to Zaheer.

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