June 18, 2022
Dua Zahra's father, Mehdi Kazmi, Saturday moved the Supreme Court against Sindh High Court (SHC's) decision allowing the teenager — 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 — to decide where she wants to go, with her parents or husband.
On June 8, the SHC allowed Dua to decide if she wants to go with her parents or her husband. "In light of all the evidence, this is not a case of kidnapping," said the three-page written order by Justice Junaid Ghaffar.
"...the alleged/minor Dua E Zahra Kazmi, pursuant to her statement on Oath and Age Certificate is set at liberty to decide as to whom she intends to reside and go along," the order read.
In the petition, Dua's father also stated: "The medical records revealed Dua's age to be 17. According to National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and academic documents, she is 14 years old."
The petition added that the police have classified his daughter's case as C-class and pleaded for an immediate hearing of the case, calling SHC's decision faulty.