The high court initially accepted statements from the girl that she was 18 — the legal marriage age in Sindh, and had willingly converted to Islam and wed, sparking protests by Christian groups and rights campaigners. Jibran Nasir, the counsel for Raja’s family, contended it was necessary to determine the girl’s real age. Justice Agha observed that if Raja was in fact of legal age, she had the right to marry whoever she chose. The bench directed the health secretary to constitute a medical board to determine the girl’s age. It also directed police to keep the girl at the shelter home till Nov 9 when the case will be taken up for hearing again.

Source: Pakistan Today November 05, 2020 10:18 UTC