Pakistan

Police have not confirmed Dua Zehra’s recovery yet, says missing girl’s father

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

“There is no truth to reports of Dua’s recovery,” Lahore’s DIG operations says.
CM Sindh says whereabouts of the girl traced, terms matter “sensitive”.
Dua’s father insists daughter’s age is 14, not 18; girl went missing 10 days back.

KARACHI/LAHORE: The father of Dua Zehra — the girl who had gone missing from Karachi’s Al Falah area a week back — said Monday that the police have not yet confirmed whether she had been recovered or not.

“Additional Inspector-General (Ghulam Nabi Memon) did not confirm whether the police found Dua or not,” the missing 14-year-old girl’s father told Geo News.

Giving details of his telephonic contact with the police officer, he told Geo News that Additional IG Ghulam Nabi Memon asked him if the news airing on TV about Dua Zehra was authentic.

Kazmi said that he told the police officer that he did not know about her recovery and asked him to verify it as he was an official related to the government.

“A nikkah nama attributed to my daughter is circulating on the social media wherein her age is written as 18 years,” he said, insisting that his daughter is below 14.

Responding to a question, Kazmi said he did not recognise any of the names written in the nikah nama. “These all names are new for me,” he added.

Before her father’s confirmation, sources told Geo News that Lahore police informed their Karachi counterpart of Dua’s recovery, while the police of both the metropolia are in touch over the matter.

Karachi also police said that Dua tied the nuptial knot with a boy — who is a resident of Lahore. The marriage certificate of the teenager has been obtained by the police and is being verified.

But commenting on the reports of her recovery, Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) Operations Dr Abid Khan said Lahore police have shared the girl’s nikkah nama with their Karachi counterpart and are using the document to trace her.

“There is no truth to the reports of Dua’s recovery […] the real facts behind this matter can only be verified once the girl is in our custody,” the police official told journalists.

Dr Khan added that Lahore and Karachi police are in contact with each other, and assured the public that the police would find her soon.

Whereabouts traced: CM Sindh

In a press conference, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also said the whereabouts of the missing teen had been traced but did not provide further details as the matter was “sensitive”.

Following reports of her being traced, Sindh Women Development Minister Syeda Shehla Raza reached the girl’s house and told journalists that the AIG has not confirmed whether the girl has been recovered yet.

“Sindh police will make an official statement once the girl’s video statement is released […] IG has made it clear that the video statement is necessary for further probe,” Raza said.

The minister noted that despite reports claiming that the girl went to Lahore out of her own free will, she was a minor and cannot do so under the law.

“When the girl will record her statement in the court then the judiciary would ask her to reconsider the marriage till she turns 18. Once she is recovered [and after the necessary judicial matters are done] she will stay at the child protection bureau till she is 18 years old,” Raza said.

Raza added she saw the girl’s Child Registration Certificate (CRC) — also known as B-form — and in line with that, her marriage — if solemnised — would stand invalid as she is under 18.

Police teams formed; FIA joins in

To ensure the girl’s recovery, three separate police teams were formed to trace her last week, while the Federal Investigation Agency’s cybercrime cell also joined the probe.

A four-member FIA team visited Dua’s home on Friday and had said that the agency had taken the initiative of joining the case itself.

“No one approached us because it’s a police chase, but it’s our own decision to help the family and the police investigators for the early and safe recovery of the girl,” said cybercrime cell chief Imran Riaz.

On Thursday, Dua’s mother had said that if her daughter was not recovered, she and her family would commit suicide in front of the Governor House.

The case

The case of the mysterious disappearance of the teenage girl from Karachi’s Al-Falah shook everyone. She went missing from the Golden Town area 10 days ago, triggering a sense of fear among the masses.

Police conducted multiple raids but failed to recover the girl. The police had claimed that she might have left the house of her own choice but the family had rejected it.

Pakistan

Sindh schools winter vacations from Dec 22

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Thursday announced the winter vacation schedule for public and private educational institutions across the province.

According to a notification issued by the Sindh School, Education, and Literacy Department, the educational institutions in the province will observe winter vacation from December 22 to 31.

“In pursuance of decisions taken in the steering committee meeting, all public and private educational institutions under the administrative control of School Education and Literacy Department Government of Sindh shall remain closed w.e.f 22-12,023 to 31-12,023 for Winter Vacation.”

Sindh schools winter vacations from Dec 22

After the winter break, the educational institutions will reopen on Friday (January 1, 2024).

Meanwhile, the new academic year in the public and private schools across Sindh will commence on April 15, 2024, and August 1, 2024, in the colleges.

The matriculation and intermediate exams will be started from the last week of May 2024, while the results will be announced on July 31 and the second week of August, respectively.

Pakistan

COAS Gen Asim Munir meets Kuwaiti crown prince

Published

4 days ago

Farwa

PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to meet Kuwaiti crown prince today.
Both army chief and PM are in Kuwait on official visit.
PM Office says multiple MoUs expected to be signed during visit.

Army chief General Asim Munir on Tuesday met Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as part of his official visit to the gulf country, reported Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

The meeting was also attended by Caretaker Law Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam, Pakistan Ambassador to Kuwait Malik Mohammad Farooq and other members of the delegation.

Meanwhile, PM Kakar has also arrived in Kuwait City after concluding the UAE visit and is expected to meet the crown prince today, the PM Office said on Wednesday.

The premier will also meet his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Ahmed Al-Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

The PM office said that a number of memorandum of understanding (MoUs) will be signed for mutual cooperation in various sectors including manpower, information technology, minerals and mining, food security, energy and defence.

In UAE, Pakistan signed several MoUs worth multi-billion dollars in a range of areas on Monday to boost economic and strategic cooperation between the two countries, PM Kakar said.

The prime minister said with the signing of the MoUs, the bilateral economic and strategic relations had entered into a new era of bilateral cooperation.

Congratulating the people of Pakistan and the UAE, he said the foundation of friendship with Pakistan which was laid by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in the 1970s, had been taken forward by his son Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to a new era.

PM Kakar expressed the hope that the MoUs that were signed by the two countries would turn into tangible projects very soon.

Pakistan

Haj 2024: Pakistanis to get ‘free SIMs with internet’

Published

5 days ago

Farwa

Caretaker Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony Aneeq Ahmed said Tuesday that the government would provide free-of-cost mobile SIMs with roaming internet packages to Pakistanis performing Haj in 2024.

In conversation with a private news channel, the caretaker minister said abayas would also be given to female pilgrims, having a Pakistani flag on the backside, and 13kg suitcases would be given to all.

The minister called the reduction of around Rs100,000 in the Haj cost a “historic step” taken by the caretaker government, noting that a further Rs50,000 would be slashed and the amount would be refunded to the people in their accounts.

He said a new mobile application has been designed to assist pilgrims, which will provide navigation support and enable constant communication between pilgrims and relevant officials.

Initially available in English and Urdu, the application will later incorporate various regional languages, he said, adding, that the app would also provide digital training programmes to every pilgrim.

The minister also disclosed a project that Haj ministry, with the collaboration of the education ministry, has planned to convert city mosques into schools to enroll out-of-school children where the mosques’ imams would play a leading role.

The minister said that mosques will play their role as community centers in every city areas, adding that imams will resolve community issues as well after offering prayers.

He said that haj ministry is taking all four provinces on board and enhancing the connectivity of mosques.

While describing another project, the minister said that his ministry with the collaboration of the health ministry has another project in the works, in which medical clinics will also be part of mosques.