A teenage girl in Karachi who went missing over a month ago has been found married to her kidnapper in Lahore. The police claim she married the alleged kidnapper of her own free will.
According to the details, the teenager [12 or 13 years old] was reported missing on Feb 13. An FIR had also been lodged by the police under Section 365-B of PPC on the complaint of girl’s family, in which a person named Abdullah was nominated as the suspected kidnapper.
Read more: Mother of Zaheer Ahmed apologizes to parents of Dua Zehra
The police had conducted raids in Peshawar and Lahore and found the girl “married to the suspect” in Lahore. Korangi-SSP Sajid Amir Sadozai claimed that the girl had reportedly married the suspect with “her free consent”, however, her marriage papers are being verified.
Kidnappings or underage marriages?
A month ago, another young girl went missing from Karachi. She was also reported to have reached Lahore and got married to a local youth.
Last year, a teenage girl, Dua Zehra, went missing from her house in Karachi on April 16. Her parents filed a first information report alleging that their daughter had been kidnapped. Dua Zehra later surfaced as “married” to a boy named Zaheer in Lahore. In a video statement, Dua said that she wasn’t kidnapped and had married Zaheer of her “free will”. She also claimed that her parents were lying about her age.
Read more: Netizens demand arrest of Dua Zehra’s husband after true age revealed
The incident provoked an outcry, especially on social media. The case became controversial due to the contrasting claims. Dua Zehra released multiple statements claiming that she willingly married Zaheer Ahmed. On the other hand, her parents insisted that she was kidnapped and her marriage was illegal due to her young age. After an intense court battle, the Sindh High Court (SHC) earlier this year temporarily handed over to her parents.