The Supreme Court of Pakistan, on Monday, directed the senior lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan to assist the apex court in deciding a case of a teenage girl, Tatheer Fatima, seeking emancipation from her father. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, while heading the bench, was informed that the girl’s father owns a shop and earns a paltry amount of Rs20000 to Rs25000 a month. The girl had filed a petition, requesting the apex court, to remove her father’s name from her birth certificate and all of her educational degrees and other documents. Tatheer wanted her last name to be removed and changed to ‘Tatheer Fatima bint-e-Pakistan’ instead. “The name of the man, who does not deserve to be called a father and whom I have not even met since childhood, should not be associated with my name,” the girl had said in her petition. At the previous hearing, the CJP directed the father to pay the financial expenses he owed to her. “The expenses for all the years that have passed will be recovered from you,” he added. During the proceedings, the apex court also told the girl that there was no law permitting a child to axe his/her father’s name from the child’s name. The petitioner’s mother, who was also present at the hearing, asked the court, “Parents are allowed to disown their children, so why can’t the children disown their parents?” After the court directions, the girl’s father told the chief justice that he was a poor man. In response, the CJP asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to probe his financial records to determine whether this was true. “If you are poor, you will face the civil case and go to jail,” the CJP responded. The girl said that the children should be given the right to retain the name of the person who actually raised them. The court adjourned the hearing of the case for ten days. Published in Daily Times, September 25th 2018.