Christians Under Attack

Imran Masih and Nazia Rukhsana told Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa of the Lahore High Court that they had been "living happily as husband and wife for more than a year" and the story of Nazia's abduction was "concocted and fabricated" by her father, Muhammad Sadiq, The News reported Wednesday.

Sadiq had claimed that Masih and his relatives had abducted Nazia to take revenge as he (Sadiq) had married Masih's aunt some 20 years, and she had embraced Islam. He also alleged that Masih and his kin stole cash, jewellery and clothes worth Rs 20,000 from his home.

Appearing in court, Nazia said she was 19-years-old, and that she had not been abducted by anyone. She said she had married Masih on May 15, 2006 and she produced a marriage certificate to prove this. Nazia also said that she was now a Christian.

The couple had been arrested after Sadiq filed a complaint with police in Lahore. Masih later filed a petition in the High Court, seeking the quashing of Sadiq's complaint.

Justice Khosa dismissed Sadiq's complaint and said "arguments show that a matrimonial issue has been transformed by the complainant into a criminal case so as to bring the weight of law to bear upon the petitioner and the alleged abductee so as to exert undue pressure on them."

"Such utilisation of the criminal law and process by the complainant has been found by me to be nothing, but an abuse of the process of law."

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