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The case of Dua Zehra, the girl who had gone missing from Karachi in April but later claimed to have married, has become more controversial after the court ordered to determine her age.
The Sindh High Court has ordered an ossification test to be carried out to determine her age. During her court appearance, Dua Zehra had claimed she was of legal age and was free to marry of her choice.
The medical procedure to verify Dua Zehra’s age has found the girl’s age to be between 16 and 17 years. Multiple medical tests were conducted at the Civil Hospital, Karachi. The report was issued by a female medico-legal officer, Dr Laraib Gul of the hospital.
The results suggest that Dua Zehra is a minor probably aged between 16 and 17 years of age and not old enough to acquire a computerized national identity card (CNIC) of her own.
The Age Certificate issued by the office of the Police Surgeon in Karachi on Tuesday showed that Dua Zehra had undergone tests to determine her age.
The test included x-rays conducted at the hospital’s Radiology Department. The certificate said Radiology Chief Dr Saba Jameel opined that the density of Dua Zehra’s bones was not that of a 14-year-old.
“Bone age is between 16 to 17 years,” read the certificate. The chief radiologist further suggested that the girl’s age was around 17 years of age.
It is pertinent to mention here that Dua Zehra had contracted marriage in Punjab where the legal age for marriage is still 16-years-of-age.
Loopholes
According to Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) whenever the court orders an age assessment, the police surgeon forms a medical board.
The board includes a radiologist and an examining medico-legal officer. This board assesses the suspect’s age under the direct supervision of the police surgeon.
According to reports, in the case of Dua Zehra, no medical board was constituted and a junior WMLO was assigned to carry out the critical assessment.
Moreover, the Police Surgeon Age Certificate has to be issued by the police surgeon, not a medico-legal officer who had signed and stamped Dua Zehra’s certificate.
Parents claims
Dua Zehra’s parents claim that the girl is 14-years of age, too young to contract a freewill marriage without their consent as per the law.
Mehdi Kazmi, the father of Dua, rejected the medical report terming it fake. He demanded fresh medical tests. He had earlier maintained that Dua was 14 years old and he has her birth certificate as evidence.
