Parents narrate ordeal of their abducted daughter
By Fawad Ali Shah
KARACHI: A man has kidnapped his minor niece and married her, thwarting the laws of the land.
Her uncle, Azam, abducted Hajra, the 12-year-old girl three months ago and has forcibly married her. The girl’s father, Yaar Muhammad, narrated his ordeal outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC) and called for the authorities’ attention for justice. Muhammad, a resident of Orho Colony, a katchi abadi located in North Nazimabad, said that he hails from Rahim Yar Khan. “I have been living in Karachi for the past ten years. I am a daily wager and work along with my wife. That fateful day, when we came back from work, we got the shocking news that out daughter had been kidnapped by my brother-in-law. He is her khalu!” said Muhammad.
“How can he marry a 12 year old?” said Muhammad, as he informed this scribe that Hajra was born on December 13, 1997. “How can anyone legalize this marriage,” questioned Muhammad.
“No one listens to my cries,” added Muhammad, lamenting the behavior of police authorities. With tears in his eyes, the heart broken father narrated his sorrow as his hands trembled. Holding his turban-clad head in his hand, Muhammad said that the Sir Syed Police Station refused to register a report in this regard. “ASI Mumtaz offered his ‘support’ if I paid him Rs 10,000. I paid the bribe but I was swiftly kicked out of the station the very next day,” said Muhammad.
“Azam is a father of two children and is the husband of my wife’s sister,” he said, while adding that the police informed him that Azam has married his daughter and they cannot help him in this regard. “Once they called the girl to the police station but they did not inform us,” he claims. “An accomplice of the culprit, Hashim, who is also a lawyer, has warned me that if I do not give up my efforts to recover my daughter, they will also abduct my 9 year old daughter,” said Muhammad, who fears for the safety of his younger daughter.
Wiping tears from his eyes, he demanded that the authorities should take appropriate action against the culprits and the police. Sitting beside her husband, Hajra’s mother, Majida, has the look of hopelessness on her face. “I have lost hope of ever getting my Hajra back. Poor people in this society are exploited and we are a living proof of this,” Majida said.
As Yar Muhammad and Majida carry on with their protest outside the KPC, they wonder if some government official will take notice of their plea and come forward to help them in getting their Hajra back.
Source: Daily Times
Date:2/24/2009
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