Punjab Police ordered to arrest Zaheer, Dua Zahra to remain in Child Protection Unit: Govt
Prime Minister Strategic Reforms Head Salman Sufi has said that orders have been given to the Punjab Police to arrest Zaheer in the Dua Zahra case on the request of the Sindh Police.
In his statement on the social media website Twitter, he said that 'Punjab Police has been asked to trace Zaheer and arrest him and Child Protection Bureau has been asked to keep the girl in their centre.'
He wrote Dua Child Marriage. There will be no leniency in cases of child abuse.
It should be noted that the investigating officer of the Dua Zahra kidnapping case claimed in the report submitted to the Additional Sessions Judge that Zaheer was present in the city when Dua Zahra was allegedly kidnapped from Karachi.
Earlier, Dua Zahra had claimed that she herself had reached Lahore by taking a taxi from Karachi, while Zaheer said that he was unaware of Dua's move and that Dua had called him after reaching Lahore.
In the written report submitted to the court, the investigating officer has mentioned the mobile phone number and said that it is registered in the name of Zaheer Ahmed and its location was found in Karachi on the day of the incident.
The police have sought permission to invoke the provisions of Section 363 and Prevention of Child Marriage Act against the accused.
33 accused have been named in this case, including eight women including Zaheer's mother Noor Bibi.
Permission is being sought from the Sindh department to recover Dua Zehra from Punjab, according to the investigation police report.
It should be remembered that the bridegroom and the witness have already been arrested in this case, while Dua Kazmi's father Mehdi Kazmi's lawyer Jibran Nasir has been demanding the arrest and investigation of Zaheer Ahmed.
An application has also been filed in the court for the change of the investigating officer on behalf of Dua's father.
It should be noted that three days ago, the local court had declared that since it is not acceptable to tell about the age only verbally, it is mandatory for the marriage registrar and the persons concerned to investigate the identity documents related to the marriage.
Karachi's Additional District and Sessions Judge last week rejected the bail plea of Nikah Khawan Ghulam Mustafa and witness Ali Asghar in the Dua Zahra case and issued a detailed judgment on Wednesday.
In its judgment, the court discussed the documents required for marriage and the role of the marriage registrar.
The judgment states that all marriage registrars and persons who attend marriages as witnesses are required to scrutinize all documents. Documents are not provided.
''This document of age can be accepted as National Registration Authority i.e. NADRA Identity Card, B-Form, School Leaving Certificate, Union Council Birth Certificate or Certificate issued by the Age Determination Authority,'' according to the court.
Explaining the reasons for rejecting the bail application of the two accused, the court wrote that the Nikah Khan Hafiz Ghulam Mustafa did not verify the documents while the witness of the marriage, Asghar Ali, has no credibility.
The court said that serious crime can destroy the psyche of the abductor, causing the family of the abductor to face public embarrassment, which is a stigma that the family members may have to face which is serious. ''So this type of heinous crime is not against an individual person but against the entire society''.
It should be remembered that earlier the police declared Ghulam Mustafa and Asghar innocent in the challan presented in the Dua Zehra kidnapping case and requested the court to order their release.
Approval of protective bail of accused Zaheer Ahmed
It may be remembered that earlier in the Dua Zehra kidnapping case, the Lahore High Court granted the security bail application of Dua's alleged husband and the accused, Zaheer Ahmed, and stayed his arrest till July 14.
Recently, after the medical board determined the age of Dua Zahra, her father once again applied to the local court of Karachi for the recovery of his daughter, in which the Sindh Police was also made a party.
On the other hand, the alleged husband and the accused, Zaheer Ahmed, approached the Lahore High Court against the possible arrest, where during the hearing, the court questioned when the FIR was registered.
The court was told that a case of kidnapping was registered on April 16 while the investigating officer in the case stated that he was re-investigating.
Medical test of Dua Zehra in Karachi on court order
Dua Zehra's medical tests were completed on July 2 in Karachi on a court order to determine her age. The police produced Dua Zehra before the medical board at Services Hospital where X-rays of her bones and teeth, blood tests, physical examination and other tests were completed.
After which, Dua Zehra was taken to Dow Dental Hospital for a dental test. A special team of the Karachi Police brought Dua to Karachi from Lahore to undergo a medical test, where the Anti-Violent Crime Cell had taken Dua into custody.
The medical board also summoned Dua's mother, who appeared before the board and answered questions related to Dua's life, while the medical board also summoned Dua Zehra's father and lawyer.
It should be noted that the local court of Karachi, in the decision issued on June 25, had ordered the formation of a medical board for Dua Zehra, after which the police team reached Lahore to take Dua.
Last month, the health department of Pakistan's Sindh province formed a ten-member board to determine Dua Zehra's age because Mehdi Kazmi, father of Dua Zehra, filed a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court for the formation of a medical board and a medical certificate And the medical certificate was challenged.
Dua Zahra's father's request
It should be noted that last Tuesday, in the application filed by Mehdi Ali Kazmi, Dua Zahra's father, it was said that according to the report of the new medical board, Dua Zahra's age has been proved to be less than 16 years.
The petitioner also said that according to the Punjab Marriage Act, 2016, the marriage of Dua and Zaheer is illegal and the court should order the recovery of Dua Zahra.
The petition also said that Dua should be recovered from the 'illegal detention' of Zaheer Ahmed and handed over to her parents and if the abductor is proved to have sexually assaulted her, action should be taken against the accused Zaheer. Dua's father approached the court. requested that Dua Zahra be stopped from going out of the country.
Earlier on July 4, Dua Zahra's medical report was submitted in the Judicial Magistrate's Court, according to which her age is between 15 and 16 years and close to 15 years.
Dua's father Mehdi Kazmi's lawyer Jibran Nasir, while reacting to the medical report submitted in the court, said that the medical board has confirmed the position of Dua's parents and rejected the previous medical report, which stated Dua's age. 17 years was stated.
According to Gibran Nasir, "This also proves that the documents of NADRA are correct and Dua is actually a 14-year-old girl."
Gibran Nasir said that now that the medical board has made it clear that Dua is underage, the police should take action in the case of her abduction instead of the court issuing an order to them.
It should be remembered that the police had taken a stand in their challan that the girl is an adult and she left the house of her own free will, so the case of kidnapping is not made.
Dua Zahra's father Mehdi Kazmi's lawyer Jibran Nasir said that if the police continue to be evasive, they will approach the judiciary again.
In this report of the medical board, the ten member board has unanimously given the final decision that Dua Zehra's age is between 15 and 16 years and around fifteen years.
The head of this team was Dr. Saba Sohail, principal of Dow Medical College. According to the report, a detailed physical examination of Dua Zehra was done and x-rays of both hands, both elbows, pelvis, teeth etc.
Gibran Nasir has said in his message on social media that we need better procedures and training in both police and judiciary to save our children.
He further wrote that 'for two and a half months the parents had to struggle to recover their daughter while Dua was unaware and in unimaginable danger.'