Sindh High Court on Tuesday ordered management of a shelter home to produce an underage Christian girl, who purportedly converted to Islam and entered a free-will marriage, before court on Wednesday (today), as she filed an application to visit her parents.
Arzoo was placed in a shelter home in November 2020 after the SHC discovered she was under the age of 18 and refused to live with her parents.
The teenage girl submitted an application from the shelter home indicating that she wished to leave the shelter home of her own free will and requested that the court allow her to accompany her parents.
A two-judge bench led by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha stated that the matter will be decided after the applicant is heard, and ordered the shelter home to present her in court today.
Patricia had been in contact with Arzoo on several occasions, according to Raja, and had attempted to get custody of the child. “We are denied admission to the shelter house,” he stated, “yet unknown strangers are permitted to visit her on a regular basis.” “Patricia is someone I don’t know. She is not a relative of ours. How will she be able to meet my daughter and claim custody of her?”
He claimed Florence had previously visited their home and demanded that Arzoo’s parents sign an affidavit giving up custody of the child, which they were unable to read. Raja’s lawyer, Jibran Nasir, stated that they refused to sign the document after their pastor, Ghazala, intervened to clarify what it was.
The document, which The Express Tribune has a copy of, would have had Raja hand up custody of Arzoo to an anonymous woman, claiming that the child no longer wanted to remain with her parents.
Raja explained that the family was under pressure from all sides because of the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, according to an audio recording obtained by The Express Tribune, a woman named Patricia is advising Arzoo on how to inform the court that she prefers to live with Patricia rather than her parents. The woman is heard offering to reconnect Arzoo with his wife and guaranteeing that he would not be arrested. She also volunteered to assist Azhar and Arzoo in their departure from the country.
Patricia told The Express Tribune she met Arzoo at the shelter home when she was contacted. “I counsel youngsters,” she added, adding that she had permission to contact the girl from an unnamed minister.
Patricia went on to say that she had the support of the government. “Arzoo has expressed an interest in residing with me. Her parents used to torment her, leaving her mentally scarred “she claimed.
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