LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday granted protective bail to Zaheer Ahmed, husband of Dua Zahra — the teen who had mysteriously gone missing from Karachi in April but later declared that she had run away from her home to marry a boy of her choice — till July 14.
Ahmed moved the LHC against his expected detention after the medical board's report of ossification and dentition evaluation performed on Zahra determined the age of the teenager to be between 15 or 16 years.
Meanwhile, the father of Dua Zahra, Mehdi Kazmi, once again filed a plea in the Sindh High Court, seeking the recovery of his daughter. The plea has moved the court to take action against Zaheer if "rape" is proved in medical tests. This time, Kazmi has based his case on the new medical findings regarding Zahra's age.
In his plea, Ahmed said that he tied the knot with Zahra but allegations are being levelled against him that he had kidnapped the girl. He pleaded with the court to grant him protective bail, citing fear of arrest.
His lawyer apprised the court that the investigation officer has said that they will re-investigate the case and expressed fear that the police might arrest his client.
He pleaded with the court to grant his client protective bail so that he could obtain interim bail from the concerned court. Accepting the plea, LHC Judge Justice Aalia Neelum granted Ahmed protective bail till July 14.