Ordeal of Pakistani Christian girl continues
A Pakistani Christian girl who judges ordered should be returned to her parents after being forced to marry a Muslim man, is now facing another legal battle.
But despite the illegal marriage the man and his lawyer continue to insist that it was “a legal marriage”, and are appealing the court’s decision.
Elisha, who was 12 at the time, was also raped by her abductor, 25 year-old Sagheer Ismael.
Her father Iqbal Masih left no stone unturned and after finding his daughter launched legal proceedings to get her back.
Iqbal Masih had no money for a lawyer and he needed to get daughter back so sold himself into servitude at a brick kiln obligation to pay the legal fees.
When supporters of the British Pakistani Christian Association found out about the case, funds were raised to pay the financial obligation over him.
In July things got bad for Elisha’s family again and when the Family Court judge in Islamabad, Riffat Mahmood ordered them to bring Elisha before the court on September 19th.
The man who abducted and raped Elisha claims Elisha is a grown-up now and capable of making her own choices, so Elisha has been asked to make a statement in court about her wishes.
In court the youngster began crying and told the judge she was compelled to marry and that her fingerprints on the marriage documents were false.
The family court judge delayed the verdict until July 26 when twin applications were submitted: one application from the accused’s lawyer who asked the court to intervene in this case and give orders to give the custody of Elisha to his client; and the other application was from Elisha’s attorney stating her family had security concerns and would like safety measures be taken to ensure the safety of Elisha and her family.
The case was adjourned until 19 September 2018.