Daily Times

The Sindh High Court on Friday ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to block Dua Zehra’s passport and make sure she is not transferred outside of the country.

Dua had gone missing from Shah Faisal Colony’s Golden Town area in April. Her disappearance made headlines after Dua’s father, Syed Mehdi Ali Kazmi, posted a video on social media, urging people to look for his daughter.

However, Dua has maintained in multiple videos that she had left her parents’ home of her own volition to marry Zaheer and insisted that she was of legal age for marriage, contrary to the age being claimed by her parents.

In the last hearing of the case, the court had ordered the authorities to take the charge of Sindh IG from Kamran Afzal and give it to a ‘competent officer’. Subsequently, the Sindh government had on Thursday evening notified Ghulam Memon as the new chief of police in the province

At the hearing on Friday, Justice Iqbal Kalhoro heard the case for abduction filed by Dua’s parents. Sindh’s newly installed IG Ghulam Memon appeared before the court and said that so far, 16 suspects have been arrested in the case. Of these, he said, three had been released following interrogation, while one had been granted bail by a court. At least 12 people remain in police custody, he told the court.

Justice Kalhoro asked if the police had managed to get any updates on the case so far? The Sindh IG told the court that Zaheer’s father worked as a driver for an official who works at the University of Punjab, and that they have been using their contacts to track Dua. Furthermore, the police official said that they have received some authentic information about Dua, he added.

Justice Kalhoro questioned has anyone from Zaheer’s family appeared before the Lahore High Court? “Who is supporting the suspects? We have observed that it is a human trafficking case,” he remarked. During Friday’s proceeding, Zehra’s parents expressed the fear that their daughter may be transferred out of the country and requested the court to take immediate action. “The court is doing whatever it can and the court is ordering all possible measures,” Justice Kalhoro remarked.

At this, the IG told the court that a seven-member-team had been sent to recover the girl and ensure that they will work hard with honesty. Justice Kalhoro asked the police to provide time frame to recover the girl. But police chief could only offer ‘soon’.

Later, the court directed the FIA to block Dua’s passport so she could not travel abroad while he directed the investigation authority’s teams to keep an eyes on the border areas. Moreover, the court directed Nadra to block the suspects’ CNIC. The State Bank was also instructed to freeze their bank accounts.

The court ordered the police to present Dua at the next hearing and adjourned the case till June 10.

Dua went missing from Shah Faisal Colony’s Golden Town area in April. Her disappearance made headlines after Zehra’s father Syed Mehdi Ali Kazmi recorded a video and requested people to look for his daughter. The video went viral on the internet followed by Zehra’s photos and her details.

Several celebrities raised their voices and expressed hope for the safe return of the teenager. The police, later, traced her to Pakpattan in Punjab and shortly after being traced she released a video statement urging her family and the authorities not to harass her as she had contracted the marriage of free will.

Zehra also said that she was of the legal age to make decisions on marriage independently. The police produced Zehra and her ‘husband’ Zaheer Ahmed before a Lahore court, which allowed the girl to go with Zaheer after she said she was 18 and not 14.