A Karachi court extended by six days the physical remand of two suspects in the Dua Zehra case.The police produced Hafiz Ghulam Mustafa, who solemnised the 14-year-old girl’s alleged free-will marriage, and Asghar Ali, one of the two witnesses of the marriage, before East Judicial Magistrate Aftab Ahmed Bughio on the expiry of their remand.
Zehra’s purported husband, Zaheer Ahmed, the Nikah Khuwan (marriage officiator), and two witnesses of the marriage — Ali and Shabbir Ahmed — have been booked for allegedly kidnapping the girl in Karachi and arranging her forced marriage.The teenager had gone missing from the Shah Faisal Colony neighbourhood last month and was later found to have married a man in Punjab. On May 20, the police had produced Mustafa and Asghar Ali before the court and obtained their physical remand until May 25, Wednesday.
Both were arrested by the Punjab police from Lahore and later brought to the port city to stand the trial.Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) SHO Irshad Arain requested the court to extend their remand for further investigations.
He stated that their custody was required for questioning about the whereabouts of Zehra and her purported spouse.Efforts were afoot to trace and recover the teenage girl as police teams sent to Punjab with the approval of the Sindh home department were carrying out raids for the purpose, the police officer said, adding that the Sindh High Court (SHC) had already issued directives for the law enforcement agencies to produce the girl before the court on May 30.He said the detained suspects made some revelations during the interrogation.
