March 10, 2025
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD
After the dismissal of Dua zehra’s lawsuit for the jactitation of marriage by a civil judge in Karachi, her lawyer Jibran Nasir, declared the move ‘legally flawed’ and has declared that it will be challenged in the Sessions’ court.
“The verdict has several legal loopholes,” said Nasir on Monday, March 10. “The judge has misread the law and the facts in his judgment, and it needs to be rectified; this is why we will challenge the civil court’s decision in the sessions court.”
He added that the court dismissed the suit on the grounds that Dua Zehra had previously given a statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in which she had claimed to have married Zaheer Ahmed of her own free will.
“However, we had already challenged that statement, as it was obtained under duress and without the presence of Dua Zehra’s family members,” Nasir said.
Case Background
Dua Zehra went missing from Karachi in 2022, later resurfacing in Punjab, where she claimed to have married Zaheer Ahmed of her own accord. Her parents, however, maintained that she was underage and had been abducted. The case sparked national debate, leading to legal proceedings over child marriage laws, age verification, and guardianship.
In January 2023, the Sindh High Court (SHC) handed over Dua Zehra’s custody to her parents.
In April 2023, she filed a family suit against Zaheer Ahmed in a Lahore court, seeking jactitation of marriage—a legal declaration that no valid marriage ever existed. She pleaded that the nikahnama (marriage certificate) was forged and obtained through coercion, with incorrect details regarding her date of birth and the marriage itself.
Dua Zehra also sought a restraining order during pendency of the suit to restrain the defendant from making a false claim of being lawfully married to the plaintiff, Zaheer Ahmed.
Court’s Verdict and Legal Challenge
However, Civil Judge & Judicial Magistrate (East) Mohammad Nouman Jatoi dismissed her suit, declaring the marriage legally valid.
“It is hereby adjudged and decreed that the marriage between the contracting parties, so also the nikahnama is hereby declared as valid, while the prayer regarding to restrain the defendant is hereby dismissed,” the court order read. “However, the plaintiff has other liberty to approach the concerned court regarding the dissolution of marriage.”
Jibran Nasir is hopeful that the verdict will be set aside on appeal, as the Supreme Court, in the 2006 Matloob Hussain v. Shahida case, has already ruled that if a woman in a jactitation suit disputes the solemnization of marriage, the burden of proof shifts on the man to establish that the nikah was validly and lawfully performed.
“In this case, Zaheer Ahmed only submitted a written statement. Neither he nor any witness of the marriage appeared in court to provide evidence that the nikah was lawfully performed,” Nasir added.
Lawyer Amna Usman also criticized the ruling, stating that a jactitation suit cannot be dismissed when the woman herself disputes the marriage.
“In this case, Dua was declared a minor and under the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, the marriage of an underage child cannot be considered valid,” she explained.
She further asked Dua to file for dissolution of marriage instead of jactitation was fundamentally flawed.
“The right to khula is exercised in a legally valid marriage, whereas an invalid marriage is annulled ab initio, meaning it is void from the outset. This ensures that the girl is never referred to as ever being married or being someone’s former wife,” she added.
Jactitation case
According to details, the suit for the jactitation of marriage was filed on April 17, 2023. The court was initially set to hear the case on April 29th, 2023, but due to a delay from the defendant’s side, the hearing was rescheduled for May 17th, 2023.