Father of girl who contracted love marriage in Jacobabad says his underage daughters were kidnapped
Muhammad Rafiq Chanu accuses members of rival clan of themselves torching their houses; People whose homes were torched appeal for justice
In a twist to the incident in which several houses of a village in Jacobabad were burnt over the love marriage of a couple, an audio message of father of the girl, who had contracted love marriage, has surfaced in which he has accused Buriro tribe, the rival clan, of kidnapping his two daughters, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday.
Muhammad Rafiq Chanu has claimed that his two daughters, 14-year-old Sidra and four-year-old Aqsa, had been kidnapped by Muhammad Hassan Buriro and Malhar Buriro.
He has also claimed that members of the Buriro tribe themselves set fire to their houses and got a fake case registered against his tribe.
He has also said that his daughter, Sidra’s age is 14 years, and her birth certificate is a proof of that. “According to the Pakistani law, marriage of an underage girl is illegal and by marrying his 14-year-old daughter, Muhammad Hassan Buriro has violated the law,” he has added.
He has demanded that justice be done in his case and that his two daughters be reunited with him.
On the other hand, Abdur Rasheed Buroro, whose house was torched along with scores of others, said on Sunday that he had nothing to do with the love marriage. "Still, I was made to pay the price for that," he said, adding that the house had been built for him by an NGO. "But now, I have been forced to live out in the open with my family."
Abdur Rasheed and others like him appealed to authorities for help and that justice be done to them since they had been rendered homeless.
Muhammad Hassan Buriro and Sidra Chanu contracted a love marriage around 10 days ago, which created tension between the Buriro and Chanu tribes.
Following the marriage, the couple reportedly moved to another city, while the groom’s family vacated their home and shifted to an undisclosed location due to security concerns.
Sources said that later, hundreds of armed individuals belonging to the Chanu tribe attacked the village of Muhammad Siddiq Arain and allegedly torched over 120 houses of the Buriro tribe, reducing them to ashes.
Police at Mirpur Buriro Police Station registered a case under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act on the complaint of Ghulam Shabir Buriro. The FIR names 12 accused, including Mohsin Ali Chanu, Saddam Hussain Chanu and Abdullah Chanu, while 20 unidentified persons have also been included in the case.
Police officials said that five suspects have been arrested so far, while raids are underway in different areas to apprehend the remaining accused.
Meanwhile, lawyer and community representative Nisar Ahmed Mugheri alleged that the police failed to include the names of influential individuals in the FIR. He said the affected families have approached the court seeking the inclusion of those names in the case.
Reporter: Saddam Hussain Chandio