On Friday, the Sindh High Court (SHC) issued an order granting her parents temporary custody of the 14-year-old daughter Dua Zehra.
On April 16, 2022, Dua was reported missing from Karachi. She was eventually found in Punjab and revealed that she had fled her house in order to wed Zaheer Ahmed, then 21.
The matter was heard today by Justice Iqbal Kalhoro of the SHC, and the young girl was also brought before the court.
Justice Kalhoro questioned the girl about her preference for staying with her parents or at the shelter home during the hearing. In response to the judge, the 14-year-old said, “She wants to go to her parents’ home and be with them.”
The parents, Mehdi and Saima Kazmi, were then ordered to post a Rs. 1 million bail, the court ordered. However, the trial court will decide who will have the girl’s permanent custody.
The court further ordered that the girl would get weekly visits from both female police and a child protection officer. Additionally, it stated that following each encounter with the teen, the aforementioned officer will report back to the court. The girl was also prohibited from leaving Pakistan until the case was resolved, according to Justice Kalhoro’s decision.
After a seven-month battle, the youngster was finally returning home, according to Jibran Nasir, the lawyer for Dua. Jibran stated on Twitter that there are numerous lessons to be learned from this case and that measures are required to stop child weddings.
