Dua Zahra’s father Syed Mehdi Kazmi has assured his daughter of love and support in an emotional message during a press conference on Monday.
She went missing from her Karachi residence in April but was later found to have married Zaheer Ahmed in Lahore.
“If my daughter is watching me right now, I want to tell her that she will be with me soon, and that she will receive the same amount of love she had before. I am standing with you and the whole family will continue to support you in future as well,” Kazmi said while speaking to the media after a medical board report determining the age of the teenager was submitted to a local court.
The report concluded that Zahra’s age is between 15 to 16 years.
Thanking the Supreme Court, Kazmi said that all the suspects would soon be arrested if the police conducts a fair investigation.
Zahra’s father, who has running from pillar to post in the last couple of months to get justice, told her that this is small evidence of his love for her. He said that he was satisfied with the report, and demanded that the culprits now be brought to justice.
Speaking on the occasion, Kazmi’s lawyer Jibran Nasir said that all the evidence pointed toward the girl being under 16 years of age.
He said that the report submitted to the court has vindicated the parents’ claim regarding her age.
Slamming the investigating officer of the case, DSP Shaukat Shahani, he claimed that the IO had not conducted a fair investigation into the case, and had been misguiding his senior officials from day one, which resulted in the removal of acting Sindh police chief Kamran Fazal and the transfer of some other officers.
Replying to a question, he said that the IO would submit a supplementary challan in light of the report, following which the court would decide whether it takes cognisance of the matter.
Medical report
In what Dua Zahra’s parents have billed as the vindication of their position, a 10-member medical board formed to determine the age of the teenage girl, has said that she is between 15 and 16 years of age.
The report was submitted to Judicial Magistrate (East) Aftab Ahmed Bughio on Monday.
The board’s consensus opinion is that Dua’s overall age is between 15 and 16 years, nearer to 15 years, based on physical examination and dentition, according to the concluding paragraph of the three-page report.
Zahra’s age according to the fresh report is:
- On the basis of physical examination — 14-15 years
- On the basis of dentition evaluation and OPG examination — 13-15 years
- On the basis of epiphyseal closure assessed through radiological examination — 16-17
“This is an unusual discrepancy,” opined the panel.
It conducted X-rays of her hands, elbows, wrists, pelvis and sternal ends of clavicle. An OPG X-ray of one of her lower mandible premolar teeth was also conducted. The matter will come up for hearing before the magistrate tomorrow (Wednesday).
