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Dua Zehra – A complex kidnapping case VS legal marriage?

Published

3 years ago

July 26, 2022

KARACHI: The complex case of either kidnapping or legal marriage of Dua Zehra, a Karachi teenage girl who was reportedly kidnapped from her house in Shah Faisal Town, Malir district, when she went out to throw some garbage in April. However, she was later recovered in Punjab.

The case has become talk of the town on social media as well as on national media. The parents of the girl are insisting that she is a minor girl however Dua Zehra herself claims she reached a free-will marriage with a boy named Zaheer Ahmed from Punjab making administration of two provinces – Sindh and Punjab – most active to resolve the sensitive case.

Here, we can have a look at the developments of the case since past few months:

April 16, 2022: Dua Zehra is reportedly kidnapped from Karachi’s Malir area when she went out of her house to throw garbage. The FIR is registered by Dua’s parents on the same day.

April 20, 2022: Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon constituted three special teams to know whereabouts of the missing girl. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also took notice of the case after outrage on social media.

April 23, 2022: The police investigators sought intelligence agencies’ technical assistance for Dua’s safe recovery.

April 25, 2022: Sindh CM told that investigators had traced location of the girl, however he couldn’t share details citing privacy reasons behind it. The same day, police also issued a statement claiming Dua Zehra married on her own will.

April 26, 2022: Dua Zehra was produced before judicial magistrate at Lahore’s Model Town Courts where she declared she had entered into a free-will marriage with Zaheer Ahmed of Lahore. With her statement, the magistrate allowed her to go with her husband Zaheer. Earlier the same day, Dua along with Zaheer was recovered from Okara and later handed over to Lahore police.

May 7, 2022: Karachi police issued interim challans against four suspects, including Zaheer and three others. All were charged with charges of kidnapping, rape, and forced marriage.

May 8, 2022: Father of Dua Zehra, Mehdi Ali Kazmi, approached Sindh High Court to file a petition seeking an end to the marriage, saying his daughter is underage.

May 11, 2022: The SHC ordered authorities including the Sindh prosecutor general to file comments on the case till May 19.

May 20, 2022: The police sought Dua Zehra’s medical examination, however the judicial magistrate in Lahore dismissed their petition.

May 24, 2022: SHC instructed interior secretary to expedite the process of locating Dua and asks authorities to produce the “abducted” girl by May 30.

May 28, 2022: SHC bench expressed dismay on slow-paced probe and warned the Sindh IGP of action if Dua was not presented in front of the court within two days.

May 31, 2022: IGP Sindh served upon a show-cause notice for not complyinh court orders on recovery of Dua. The SHC bench also issued orders to present the abducted girl before them no later than June 3.

June 5, 2022: Lahore police recovered Dua and her alleged husband Zaheer from Bahawalnagar, and handed them over to the Sindh police who bring the couple to Karachi for trial in the SHC.

June 6, 2022: Sindh police produced Dua and her alleged husband Zaheer in the court and the court sent the girl to a shelter home for medical tests to determine her age. Meanwhile, Dua also records her statement in front of the SHC bench, “I was not kidnapped. I married Zaheer of my free will and want to live with him“.

June 8, 2022: The SHC ordered that Dua Zehra is free to decide her fate and has the autonomy to choose to live with whoever she wants. The court also ordered that the evidence does not qualify for this to be a kidnapping case.

June 16, 2022: Sindh police requested the SHC to cancel the FIR on Dua’s case and allow acquittal of Ghulam Mustafa and Ali Asghar, as the verdict defies kidnapping charges.

June 18, 2022: Dua’s father approached the Supreme Court to challenge SHC’s verdict in the case.

June 23, 2022: Five days later, the Supreme Court disposed of Dua’s father’s petition after he withdraws it. Kazmi’s lawyer says they will now approach the high court for the constitution of a medical board, and also a family court to challenge the nikahnama.

June 25, 2022: Karachi court orders Sindh police to continue investigation to determine Dua’s age, following which a 10-member medical board is constituted for this purpose.

June 28, 2022: Dua’s father moved a district and sessions court seeking change of IO of the case, arguing that he is apparently investigating the matter in a biased manner.

June 29, 2022: The first meeting of 10-member medical board to ascertain Dua’s age held. However, the girl does not appear before it.

July 2, 2022: Dua is presented before the medical board constituted to determine her age.

July 3, 2022: The Karachi court dismissed plea seeking removal of the investigating officer in the case.

July 4, 2022: Medical board concluded Dua’s overall age is between 15-16 years. Her father’s lawyer says the girl’s statements and an earlier medical report which claimed she was 17 of age have been proven wrong.

July 6, 2022: The SHC issued notices to the interior ministry, provincial home department, police and others on a petition filed by the father of Dua, seeking her custody.

July 7, 2022: The Lahore High Court granted interim protective bail to Zaheer.

July 14, 2022: A sessions court in Karachi ruled that a nikah khawan (marriage registrar) should not merely accept oral entries regarding the age of a bride and groom, but should also verify an authentic official documentary proof of their age.

July 16, 2022: In a dramatic turn, police informed the sessions court in Karachi that 24 persons, including Zaheer, had been found involved in abducting her from Karachi and shifting her to Punjab, where they solemnised the illegal child marriage.July 19, 2022: A district and sessions court in Lahore sent Dua to Darul Aman (shelter home) at her request, while on the same day, a sessions court in Karachi ordered removal of investigation officer as it hears a plea filed by Dua’s father.

Related Topics:Dua DuaZehra Featured ForcedMarriages KarachiGirl Kidnapping Lahore Pakistan Police PunjabGovernment SHC Sindh SindhGovernment

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SBCA working without Director Administration & Director Finance

Published

6 months ago

September 3, 2024

Aftab Channa

KARACHI: The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), the only authority to keep vigil on the illegal construction and builder mafia, the authority has been working without full-fledged director administration and director finance for the past couple of weeks, it is learnt.

According to sources, the most competent and honest officer of the authority namely M Mushtaq Ibrahim Soomro was performing as Director Administration and Director Finance with utmost honesty however the powerful mafia within the authority used their influence and got him transferred from the authority’s headquarters.

SBCA Director General/Chief Executive Abdul Rasheed Solangi issued an order on August 7, 2024 transferring the most competent officer from the post.

“Mushtaq Ibrahim Soomro, Director (BS-19) Administration and Finance (SBCA) Headquarter is hereby transferred and posted as Regional Director (BS-19) Hyderabad Region (SBCA) vice Engr Syed Ali Mehdi Kazmi, Regional Director (BS-19) Hyderabad Region (SBCA), who has already been allowed to work as Additional Director General-BS-20 (SBCA) on his own pay & scale”, according to notification.

“M Mushtaq Ibrahim Soomro, Regional Director (BS-19) Hyderabad Region (SBCA) is also allowed to look after the charge of Regional Director (BS-19) Mirpurkhas Region (SBCA) in addition to his own duties, until further orders”, the notification adds.

Soon after the transfer of Mr Soomro, the posts of Director Administration and Director Finance remained vacant as no officers were posted on the vacant posts since August 7, 2024. “Now the deputy director is forwarding most important files directly to the Director General, sources disclosed.

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Bajari Mafia – Karachi’s Safoora Town under clutches of Mallah brothers

Published

6 months ago

August 18, 2024

Aftab Channa

KARACHI: It seems that every person in the Sindh’s Local Government Department has become powerful mafia as there is no proper check and balance on appointment, transfer and posting of employees in the most important department and the “Might is Right’ rule prevails there.

The same is the case with Town Municipal Corporation, Safoora, District East, where Mallah brothers have become mafia with the alleged political backing from the Chief Minister’s House.

According to insiders, Munawar Hussain Mallah, Town Municipal Commissioner, TMC Safoora, District East has badly hit the performance of the town administration led by the elected town chairman adding miseries to the lives of citizens.

Interestingly, Munawar Hussain Mallah, an officer of BPS-17/SCUG Service (Admin Branch), carries two fake service profiles that included his appointment on December 22, 1995. Later, he was promoted to BS-16 on October 27, 2011. He got another promotion to BS-17 in 2019.

Insiders disclosed that Munawar Mallah was initially appointed as UC Secretary in Karachi’s Quaidabad area and drew salaries as secretary union council for couple of years.

The seniority list, issued by the Local Government Department, Government of Sindh, in year 2010 did not include his name anywhere in the list. How come is it possible that Mr Mallah got promotion from BS-16 to BS-17 in 2016?

It is mentioned here that Munawar Mallah is brother of most corrupt official namely Maqsood Mallah who recently blackmailed his bosses as he was under severe disciplinary action for his massive financial corruption. He also put a major dent on the performance of most competent and honest Secretary Sindh Local Government Board Piyaar Ali Lakho. Presently, Maqsood Mallah is on stay from the Sindh High Court just to avoid any legal and departmental action from the department.

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System Works – Najmi Alam’s front-man becomes powerful mafia of Sindh’s livestock, fisheries

Published

10 months ago

May 5, 2024

Aftab Channa

KARACHI: In blatant violation, Advisor to Chief Minister on Livestock and Fisheries Department Najmi Alam has appointed his front-man Agha Saeed as focal person of the Livestock and Fisheries Department of the Sindh Government, it is reliably learnt.

The Sindh’s livestock and fisheries department has always been a hot-cake where financial corruption of billions of rupees were corrupted and many investigations underway by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The world famous corruption made by Nisar Morai is still in the minds of the people and yet again the prominent ‘SYSTEM’ finally entered into the department in shape of installation of Najmi Alam as advisor. Under the rules, no outsider or private person can be installed as focal person, sources say.

Now, the project directors of foreign-funded multi-million projects engineers, development experts and all other official dealing with development schemes and budgets would directly report to Agha Saeed, the front-man of Najmi Alam.

Agha Saeed is a low-grade employee of the Sindh Local Government Department, who has brought into the Livestock and Fisheries Department by Najmi Alam. His appointment has shocked almost every officer of the department and a wave of unrest prevail among their ranks, sources added.