High court tells police to protect couple facing life threats

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday issued notices to the provincial advocate general and police chief as well as others on a petition of a couple seeking protection and the restoration of the woman’s share from her late father’s properties in Ghotki. The court also ordered police protection for the couple.

Petitioner Munawar Khatoon said she had married Jam Taimoor Ali Dhar on March 5, 2017, but had to live in hiding due to the fear of being killed for “honour”.

She said she and her spouse had recently returned to Pakistan but still felt that her close relatives might harm them. She added that news of her and her husband’s deaths were also published in some newspapers, but the deceased were some other couple.

The petitioner said her father Ali Bux Khan Mahar had died after her marriage, and all the legal heirs had divided her inheritance among themselves by declaring her dead. She said she and her spouse feel their lives are under threat by her family members, and requested the court for protection.

She said her family was not happy with her marriage, and requested the court to direct the respondents to restore the succession case so she could receive her inheritance. After the petition’s preliminary hearing, a single SHC bench headed by Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui issued notices to the AG, the police chief and others, directing the police to act strictly in accordance with the law and protect the lives and liberties of the couple.