Accepting the plea for their safety and protection, the Peshawar High Court on Monday directed police to providing respectable, safe and protective conditions to an Afghan couple until the next date of hearing, while directing police to establish contacts with Afghan Consulate through the Foreign Office.
The court also ordered quashing the FIR registered against the couple, Haiwad and Maryam, lodged at Mirpur police station, Abbottabad.
The couple reportedly reached Abbottabad a month ago and an FIR was registered by police against them on a report by Mohammad Ishaq, brother of Maryam.
Prior to the announcement, the Peshawar High Court bench of Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Shah Jehan Akhunzada ordered action under section 54 of CrPC against Ishaq, brother of Maryam for possessing a fake registration card, which according to him was provided by Badhabher police.
In accordance with court directives, Ishaq was arrested from the court room and shifted to East Cantonment police Station.
The couple was produced in court by Abbottabad police on Monday.
The two recorded their statement, narrating the tale of their love marriage, while Ishaq, brother of Maryam, informed the court that Maryam was already married to Abdul Rehman who had been left paralyzed by a stroke. He also produced a four-year-old girl, Sana, in the court, who he said was the daughter of Maryam.
However, the couple rejected Ishaq’s claims, pleading for protection as there was serious threat to their life both in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
After hearing statements of both sides, the court set aside the allegations of Ishaq and said the claim of Maryam’s marriage could not be established and ordered Cantt SP Shabir for providing a protective house for the accommodation of the couple.
Police assured to arrange a safe and suitable accommodation for the couple. The court also directed the police to establish contact with Peshawar-based Afghan Consul General for shifting the couple to Afghanistan.
The court adjourned hearing until July 31.
