Our lives are in danger: Dua Zehra claims in video message

• Dua Zehra claims Sindh and Punjab police are "harassing her".
• Says she doesn't want to go to Karachi.
• Says she is happy with her husband and in-laws.

LAHORE:  Dua Zehra — the 14-year-old girl who had mysteriously gone missing from Karachi in April but later declared that she had run away from her home to marry 21-year-old Zaheer Ahmed — has recently claimed that the couple's life is in danger.

In a video message, Dua said that she had eloped with her husband and had gone to Lahore where she willingly married him. 

"While the Constitution and the law of this country allow me to marry whoever I want and I can live wherever I want under the law, my life is in danger," she said.

Dua said that she had recorded a statement in the court in favour of her husband but despite that, the Sindh and Punjab police were "harassing her and her husband" and were carrying out an "illegal search."

"The Sindh police want to kidnap me and my husband, so if anything happens to us, the Sindh police, Punjab police, and my parents will be responsible for that."

Dua further said that she is "happily married and is living a peaceful life in Lahore," adding that her in-laws were treating her very well.

"People on social media are calling my in-laws part of some gang, but that is a baseless allegation. They are respectable people and are even better than my parents," she maintained.

The teenager also said that she had left a letter at her parents' home before eloping in which she had "clearly explained the reasons for leaving her home."

She said that paying no heed to the letter, her parents went ahead and registered a missing person case to recover her.

"I do not wish to go to Karachi as I am very happy here in Lahore with my husband. I appeal to the police not to harass us and allow us to live peacefully," she said.

The father of Dua Zahra has approached the Sindh High Court for the recovery of his daughter as he claims she was underage. According to the law in Sindh, marriage before the age of 18 is illegal, while the age limit in Punjab is 16 years.

The Sindh High Court has issued notices to all parties concerned, including the girl's husband, on the petition filed by Dua Zahra's father for her recovery.