Separated couple: PHC upholds decision asking father to pay for child’s treatment

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday upheld an order of the family court and directed a father to provide Rs60,000 per month for treatment of his ailing minor son, who is living with his [separated] mother.

A division bench comprising Justice Syed Afsar Shah and Justice Abdul Shakoor directed Sheheryar Shah, a businessman, to also provide the outstanding amount for the previous months for the treatment of his six-year-old son Salar Shah, who is a special child and under-treatment.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner was willing to pay for the treatment of his son, but it should be bound to receipts of the hospitals.

In a reply to the appeal, Subhh Khalid, mother of the handicapped child, submitted that she had started a separate life since 2014 at the house of her parents after physical and mental torture by her husband Sheheryar Shah. Tariq Javed, counsel for Subhh Khalid, submitted that in 2017, the family court had fixed Rs60,000 for treatment of the handicapped child as he suffered from various diseases and needs special care and treatment. Second, the father of the minor is a businessman and trying to take custody of the child only to give further mental torture to the mother of the child after her separation.

The mother said that she had also filed a suit in the family court for her divorce. However, she alleged that her in-laws were trying to ruin her life and whenever she applies for a job, they being influential persons, approach the bosses and deprive her of availing the job in the private sector.

She stated that recently, the IMSciences management, on the intervention of her in-laws, cancelled her name from the TEDxIMSciences event, where she was invited as a speaker for sharing her success story as a woman facing hardships and challenges.