ABBOTTABAD: A man, married four times already, has reportedly married his 18-year old stepdaughter in Haripur.
While talking to a media outlet, accused Waris Ali Shah’s wife Sheherbano Qazmi said that she married Waris after her former husband passed away nine years ago. She said that she had four children – two daughters and two sons – from her deceased husband, adding that they came to live with Waris when the two got married.
She said that they led a peaceful life for the first nine months of their marriage, during which time Sheherbano also financed a spare automobile parts business for Waris.
However, Waris eventually started to demand from her to sell the house left to her by her deceased husband but Sheherbano refused. As a result, Waris began to physically abuse her.
She then said that her eldest daughter from her deceased husband went missing from the house on November 5.
On November 22, Waris sent her a message on Whatsapp with a picture of his nikah nama with the missing daughter.
Devastated, Sheherbano approached the local police station, only to come against deaf ears, until she took her case to the local court. She moved the court under Section 22A of the Criminal Procedure Code by which one can approach a court directly if police are refusing to register one’s case.
During her efforts to find her daughter, Sheherbano discovered that Waris had already married four times before making her 18-year old daughter his fifth wife.
She further disclosed that Waris had stopped financially supporting her and her family after the incident, leaving her to struggle with making ends meet for her children and herself. She said that she could neither pay her children’s school fees nor look after her own ailing health.
Sheherbano said that Waris had received help from their driver, who used to take her children to school at one point, in his action. “Even he did not inform me,” she cried.
She added that even Waris’s father, who has since then publicly disowned his son, was aware of his acts and only took a strict stance against Waris to protect him.
