ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday allowed a couple Maria and Bilawal Bhutto to live togather as they tied a knot in a freewill marriage.
A single judge bench of Justice accepted the plea moved by Maria, whose Hindu name was Anooshi and her husband Bilawal Ali Bhutto son of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, seeking protection because of the threats to their lives for exercising their freewill marriage and wanted to live happily.
During the course of proceedings, a meeting between Maria and her parents were arranged within the primacies of court to fulfill the norms of justice. The parents of Maira tried their best to convince her to leave Bilawal and to adopt Hindu religion again, but Maria refused to do so clearly.
Later when Maria produced before the bench, she informed the bench that she embraced Islam without any influence and got freewill marriage with Bilawal according to the law of this land as it was fundamental right of a person who attained age of maturity. The counsel for the petitioner argued that due to the “stone age old disgusting tradition of Karo-Kari”; life of both the petitioners was under serious threat and danger.
He alleged that the respondents could go to any extent in order to execute the “black tradition” and it would promote “unconstitutional, illegal, immoral and un-Islamic tradition of Karo-Kari.”
Meanwhile Dr. Remash Kumar Venkwani Leader of PML-N appeared before the court and informed that at time of partition minorities were 23 percent in the country but now were only 6 percent, and if any one converted oneself without any influence it could be accepted.
Justice Shoukat Aziz Siddiqui remarked that Maira embraced Islam without any influence so no one had right to force her to leave it. She recited “Qalma Teyyaba” in the court’s room to prove herself a Muslim and accepted that the only thing which was influenced her for conversion was the teaching of Islam nothing else, the Justice added.
Justice Siddiqui remarked that people belong to any religion would be treated equally and their fundamental right of live protection would be protected at any coast as well. Bilawal Bhutto made a solemn statement before the bench that he would support her wife throughout his life in good or worse would never ever left Maira.
After Bilawal assurance and Maira’s statement the bench allowed them to live together and directed police to provide them necessary protection where as they needed. Subsequently the court disposed of the case. — APP
