Custody of minors who had left home because of abuse granted to maternal aunt

A judicial magistrate on Thursday handed the custody of two minor siblings, who had safely returned home on Wednesday after mysteriously going missing in North Nazimabad, to their maternal aunt.

12-year-old Ayan and his 11-year-old sister Anabia Naz returned home on Wednesday 13 hours after mysteriously disappearing upon leaving their home in the North Nazimabad area. On Thursday, Investigation Officer Muzaffar Khan produced the siblings before Judicial Magistrate (Central) Jahanzeb Soomro and moved an application for recording their statement under the Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

In their statements, the minors denied that they were kidnapped and stated that they left their home on their own due to the cruel behavior of their maternal aunt, Beenish, and uncle Salman. They expressed their wish to live with their maternal aunt Farheen, alias Sonia, who lived separately.

Farheen, through her lawyer, separately filed an application requesting the court to grant her custody of the minors. Their father Rashid also moved a similar application seeking the children's custody.

Rashid's lawyer Zahid Soomro contended that the children were subjected to mistreatment by her aunt who made them do all household chores, which was why they left the house. He said their father, being their natural guardian, could take good care of them, pleading that he be granted their custody.

On the other hand, Yasir Sadozai, representing Farheen, argued that the siblings' parents had separated in 2015, and since then, their father had not given a single penny for their maintenance nor inquired about their well-being. When the issue was highlighted on social media, he suddenly felt sympathy for them, the counsel said, adding that he had never approached any forum before for their custody.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the magistrate noted that both the siblings had been residing with their maternal relatives, as their mother lived and worked in the UAE and frequently visited Pakistan to see her children.

"At this juncture, the court is to decide temporary custody of minors looking at the welfare at present and also considering the willingness of the minors as they appear to be of rationale mind," the magistrate remarked, adding that since the issue arose due to discomfort the siblings experienced at their maternal parents' house, therefore it would not be reasonable to hand their custody over to any member residing there.

He opined that their father, who was their natural guardian, could not be granted their custody either because "the circumstances of the case at hand disentitle him to temporary custody of minors.”

Keeping in view the minors' willingness to reside with their maternal aunt Farheen, who also sought their custody and lives separately from their other maternal relatives, the judicial magistrate handed over their custody to her subject to furnishing Rs500,000 bond for each minor.

He said their father was at liberty to approach the relevant forum for the custody of his children. Meanwhile, the magistrate ordered that the names of Farheen and the minors be placed on the Exit Control List.

He directed the Central SSP to depute an officer who shall immediately locate the residential address of Farheen and ensure that the minors were not taken outside the jurisdiction of the police station.

He cleared that the schooling of children shall continue uninterruptedly and if their school was outside the limits of the police station of the applicant's residence, then minors may be removed from the jurisdiction of the police station only for that purpose.

Schooling expenses

Former federal petroleum minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Dr Asim Hussain has announced that he will bear the complete education expenses of the two children till graduation, adds our correspondent.

He met the two children on Thursday and said that Dr Ziauddin Hospital Trust would bear their complete schooling expense. The schooling of the two children was stopped since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Ayan has passed grade two while Anabiya has secured education till grade one.