Karachi court orders medical board to determine Dua Zahra's age

Judicial Magistrate Karachi-East on Saturday ordered the secretary health to form a medical board in order to ascertain the exact age of Dua Zahra, the Karachi girl who had fled to Punjab to marry the boy of her choice named Zaheer, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

The magistrate, in his remarks, said the court had nothing to do with as to at which place the girl should undergo the medical test; that was for the prosecution to decide.   

Earlier, Mehdi Kazmi, Dua’s father, and his lawyer Jibran Nasir appeared in the court. 

Investigation Officer (IO) in the case Shaukat Shahani and the government’s counsel also showed up. 

Advocate Jibran gave arguments on the challan. 

Later talking to the media, IO Shahani said that the charge of kidnapping against Zaheer could not be proved in the investigation. “It especially became evident after Dua’s statement,” he said, adding that he and members of his team had investigated the case from all angles.

“The girl had contracted the marriage of her free will,” he said, and added, “Both of them had met each other on PUBG following which they decided to marry; hence this is not the case of kidnapping at all.”   

The IO said that he would again look at the case after he received a copy of the Supreme Court on it.   

A big relief came for Dua Zahra two days ago on Thursday, June 23, 2022 when the Supreme Court (SC) rejected her father’s petition against the Sindh High Court (SHC) verdict and disposed of the case when the latter told the court that he wanted to withdraw it.    

A three-member bench of the SC’s Karachi Registry, consisting of Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, in their remarks said that Dua was a human, and that she should be treated like a human being and not herded like cattle. 

Now when she had married the boy of her choice, the apex court could not do anything in the case, they told Mehdi Kazmi, her father.  

They also made it clear to him that his daughter’s case was by no means that of ‘kidnapping’ or ‘harassment’.  

The SC judges also conveyed to him that even if a girl, under 16 years of age, contracted marriage, her Nikah remained valid. It remains valid even under the law passed by the Sindh Assembly, they said, and added what they could do when her girl had refused to go with him even after the meeting.   

The SC also directed Kazmi to approach appropriate forums if he wanted the constitution of a medical board. 

The court told the petitioner that the case did not fall in its purview.

Later talking to the media, Mehdi Kazmi’s counsel Jibran Nasir admitted that Dua’s nikah nama was not forged one. “At no forum has it been proved ‘fake’,” he added. 

Now, he added, he and his client could approach the relevant forums for the formation of a medical board. “We will raise the age factor of the girl in the trial court afresh,” he informed. 

“We will request the secretary health for the formation of a new board. And we are pretty much sure that its report will be in our favour,” he concluded. 

The Sindh High Court had on June 8, 2022 allowed Dua to make a decision as per her free will, adding she can live with whosoever she chooses. 

However, the court after observing progress in case against Dua's husband directed police to submit a challan against Zaheer in the court.

In the three-page order, Justice Junaid Ghaffar said the court had reached the verdict in line with the testimonies. "In light of all the evidence, this is not the case of kidnapping,” he remarked. 

Reporter: Mumtaz Jamali