Judgment reserved on for security of recently converted Muslim girls

ISLAMABAD - Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday reserved its judgment on maintainability of a petition seeking security for two Hindu girls who recently converted to Muslim and married Muslim boys.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah observed that the petitioners should move to Sindh High Court (SHC) to seek relief as the matter did not fall in the jurisdiction of the IHC.

“Why the newly Muslim women of Sindh approach only IHC rather filing the same petition in the SHC,” he said.

However, the petitioners’ counsel Umair Baloch pleaded that the lives of his clients were under threat in Sindh.

He feared that they could be killed before approaching the SHC.

Justice Minallah said the bench did not let use the IHC for these matters, adding the petitioners should have complete confidence in the SHC.

The bench asked the petitioners’ counsel to move to SHC and reserved the decision on maintainability of the case.

It may be mentioned here that the petitions said Dua Fatima (Samrin) and Ghulam Ayesha (Priya Kumari) married to Afaq Ali and Ali Murrad, respectively, and converted to Islam willfully.

Dua Fatima said he got impressed by Islamic teachings during studying in pre-medical education.

The petitioner girls disclosed in their plea that they had embraced Islam recently publicly. The girls said there had life threats from their father and local member provincial assembly Asad Sikandar.

The petitioners said they had married to Muslim boys willfully in front of members of Islamabad Bar Association (IBA).

The petitioners prayed the court to direct the respondents to restrain from harassing and threatening the applicants and interfering into petitioners ‘right to life with the liberty to profess religion to her choice and her marriage as guaranteed by the Constitution.

The petitioners prayed the court to issue directives to security institutions for ensuring protections to their lives.

Interior ministry secretary, Islamabad inspector general of police, girls’ father and PPP’s MPA had been nominated as respondents in the case.

Dua Fatima belongs to Sukkur while Ghulam Ayesha was the resident of Khairpur, Sindh.