Court allows Dua Zehra to decide where she wants to live

KARACHI - The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday announced a reserved verdict in Dua Zehra case, allowing the Karachi teenage girl to decide whether she wants to live with her parents or go with husband. The SHC had reserved its verdict earlier Wednesday.
A two-member bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar, issued written order in Dua Zehra case, the Karachi teenager girl who had gone missing from her hometown Karachi and later surfaced in Punjab. The SHC, in its written verdict, observed that no evidence was found that the girl had been abducted and stopped authorities concerned from registering abduction cases. “No evidence was found of the girl’s abduction,” the court ruled.
The three-page written verdict ordered the investigation officer (IO) to submit interim challan and medical record of Zehra. The court ruled that it was the responsibility of Sindh government to produce Dua Zehra before Lahore High Court (LHC). “The trial court will continue investigation as per the law in the case,” reads the verdict.
The SHC also disposed of the petition filed by parents into the alleged abduction of Karachi teenage girl.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the girl along with her alleged husband appeared before the court after a medical examination which stated that she is aged between 16 to 17-year-old.
As the hearing went underway, the counsel representing the father of the girl said that they wanted to present some documents to prove her age at 14. The SHC judge, however, rejected the plea and said that the case pertains to her recovery and now the matter should be raised with the trial court. The court also allowed the parents to meet the girl.

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