KARACHI – A local court in the country’s financial capital has directed officials to form a medical board to determine the age of Karachi’s teenage girl Dua Zehra, who first went missing and later married a Lahore-based boy of her free will.
Reports in local media said a judicial magistrate in Karachi has ordered the formation of a medical board after Dua’s father Mehdi Kazmi challenged the Sindh High Court verdict in the Supreme Court where his petition was disposed of last week.
During the hearing, the petitioner and his counsel apprised the court that the police challan focused on Dua’s age and her statement.
Jibran Nasir maintained that they had requested the apex court to move Dua to a shelter home and re-determine her age through a medical board. The counsel then presented the Supreme Court’s order to the judicial magistrate in which it had said that the petitioner had the right to challenge the ossification report.
Earlier, the ossification test revealed that the girl was between 16 to 17 years of age.
Mehdi’s counsel also maintained that the police had declared the case C-class without finding the exact age of the girl.
Supreme Court wraps up Dua Zehra s case after father withdraws petition
Later, the judge returned the case challan to the investigating officer, ordering to further investigate it and collect evidence regarding the true age of Dua Zehra.
Last week, the country’s top court had disposed of a petition of Dua’s father who challenged the ruling of the Sindh High Court which said that Dua was free to decide who she wanted to live with.
