Dua Zehra Said She Wants To Come Home, Claims Mother

The mother of the teenage girl Dua Zehra –who had gone missing in April and was found married to her now-husband Zaheer Ahmad– has claimed that during a meeting facilitated by the judge, Dua Zehra told her that she wants to go home.

Dua Zehra had been brought to court on Monday, a day after being recovered by the police from Bahawalnagar, and had refused to meet her parents that day. She had also reiterated that she was 18-years-old and therefore not a minor, and that she wished to be with her husband Zaheer.

Justice Junaid Ghaffar ordered that the girl be sent to a shelter home till June 8, while a medical ossification test is conducted to establish her age. Results of the test received today place Dua Zehra to be around 16-17 years of age.

In a meeting held at a judge's chamber today, however, Dua had said that she wants to come home, her mother said. "My daughter said in the meeting that I want to go home. Dua said she will give her statement in court," she said.

However, the mother claimed that instead of bringing the girl to the parents, or letting her give her statement in court, the police took her away to the shelter home again.

Dua's father, Mehdi Kazmi, challenged the medical reports, saying they were fake. He presented his documents and sought time to submit more documents to prove that his daughter was a minor of almost 14 years of age.

He claimed that his own marriage took place some 16 years ago, so how could his daughter be 17 or 18.

The court has reserved its verdict on the case.