Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Multan (Fides Service) - The High Court in Punjab will judge and determine the truth about the case of Farah Hatim, the Catholic girl kidnapped, Islamized and forced to marry a Muslim man in the city of Rahim Yar Khan in southern Punjab ( see Fides 25/6/2011 and previous days). This is what Paul Bhatti, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for Religious Minorities Affairs in Pakistan and leader of APMA (All Pakistan Minorities Alliance) tells Fides. APMA had tried to mediate in recent days, asking the Muslim family with whom Farah is now, to meet the girl, repeating the official request by a judge of the Court of First Instance in Rahim Yar Khan. The attempt failed (see Fides 07/07/2011) because the family did not appear and the judge himself said to "consider the case closed".
For this reason APMA decided, in agreement with the girl’s family, to appeal to the High Court in Punjab. A complaint has already been presented and they are waiting for the date of the hearing, where the judge will call Farah, the family of origin and the Muslim family to hear the different versions on the matter and ascertain the will of the young girl. "We had no choice. Given the stubborn attitude of closure of the Muslim family, we want justice to go ahead and that Farah can express herself: this is why we have sent lawyers to lodge an appeal to the High Court", Bhatti tells Fides.
The judge may hear Farah publicly but also privately. If the impression is that the girl, frightened or intimidated, does not tell the truth (pleasing her persecutors), he may decide to transfer her for a period of time in the "Darul Aman" ("House of Peace"), a governmental institute with many offices in major cities across the country, which welcomes and holds under police protection, battered or kidnapped women. The institute is a work strongly desired by Asma Jahangir, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association and active in defending the rights of Pakistani women. The lawyers of APMA, who are taking care of the appeal, would like Farah to be transferred there in order to avoid the possibility of her "disappearing". Fr. Yousaf Emmanuel, Director of the "Justice and Peace Commission" of the Episcopal Conference of Pakistan, has welcomed this step, insisting that "the Church of Pakistan, which in the past saved and deals with protecting many young Christian girls, is close to Farah and her family, and intends to give all possible support for a happy ending to this sad event ". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/07/2011)
