SHC orders medical test to determine Dua Zehra’s age

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday ordered that Dua Zehra — the teenage girl who went missing from Karachi's Shah Faisal Colony in April — be sent to a shelter home and a medical test be carried out to determine her age.

The order was passed by Justice Junaid Ghaffar after the police presented the teenager and Zaheer Ahmed, the boy she is said to have contracted marriage with, before the court amid tight security a day after they were recovered from Bahawalnagar.

Dua's parents, the Sindh Advocate General, and police officials were among those present in court.

When the teenager entered the courtroom today, her mother tried to embrace her but was stopped by the court police, who said that they didn't have permission to meet the girl.

During the hearing, Dua recorded her statement before the court, claiming that she was 18 years old. "I was not kidnapped. I married Zaheer of my free will and want to live with him," she said.

For his part, the counsel of Mehdi Kazmi, Dua's father, contended that the birth certificate of the girl was present with the court. "They clearly show that she was born on April 27, 2008, which proves that she is 14 years and a few months old," he said.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Advocate General argued that no crime had taken place in the province. "The girl has said that she went of her free will," he pointed out, reiterating that "no crime" occurred in Sindh and that the marriage was contracted in Punjab.

Here, Justice Ghaffar remarked: "This means that the petition regarding her recovery has now become redundant.