PHC moved for premarital blood screening test for couple

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) was moved Wednesday for seeking direction to the provincial government to make legislation for mandatory premarital blood screening test for couples.

Special persons, including Asghar Khan and others, filed the writ petition through lawyer Muhammad Khurshid Khan. They made the provincial government, Social Welfare Department Secretary, Health secretary and Peshawar district nazim as parties.

In the petition, the special persons prayed before the high court to direct the provincial government to make legislation and ensure through station house officer (SHO that the marrying couple undergo screening test and acquire clearance certificate before marriage.

In the petition, the special persons prayed for legislation for premarital blood screening test.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Roohul Amin Khan also made Director General of Baitul Mall Pakistan as a party to the case.

The official was directed to submit reply in the case related to the special children about their rights, including education.

The special persons prayed before the court to direct the provincial government to establish Special Education Centre for special persons in the interior city area of Peshawar as majority of special children were facing difficulties in reaching the centre established in Hayatabad in Peshawar.

They sought directions for the government to give them special cards like Benazir Income Support Program to meet their monthly expenses.

The special persons prayed the court to direct both the public and private educational institutions to allocate and implement admission quota for special students.

Besides, they also prayed to direct the government for establishment of ramp for the special persons in the buses and stands of Bus Rapid Transit project and work places in the city.

It was stated in the petition that currently there are only three education centres for special children in the province, which are at Hayatabad, Kohat and Mardan.

It was stated in the petition that special persons were not allowed admission to both the public and private educational institutions in the province.

It is worth mentioning that in December 2016 a bill was tabled in Senate by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Chaudhry Tanvir under the amended family laws - which include Muslim marriage, Christian Marriage and Divorce Act and Parsi Marriage Act - a couple will be bound to get their blood screened before the marriage. After the legislation, marriage will not be considered valid without the report of blood screening and the (couple) will be bound to get a medical certificate from the relevant doctor.

The Nikah registrar, accordingly, will register the marriage after getting a medical report from the relevant doctor.

But to date a joint Senate committee failed to finalise a bill on premarital blood testing after the Council of Islamic Ideology argued that the test should be voluntary and one of the chairmen, Hafiz Hamdullah, said it was insulting to direct a couple to be tested before marriage.

If two thalassaemia carriers have children, the child could be born with thalassaemia major, which causes the body to stop making red blood cells. Patients need regular blood transfusion, and the only cure is a bone marrow transplant, which is not only expensive but also requires a donor.

A thalassaemia patient requires medication worth thousands of rupees, and blood transfusions once or twice a month. The disease can be detected by a simple blood test.