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Summary All of us are accustomed to the way humanity is assailed in our country on a daily basis.
Brutality is not new to us, neither is expediency and corruption – of all sorts, including moral.The tale of Amna handed over to her French mother amidst her sobbing is just another chapter.The Lahore High Court handed over 11-year-old Amna to the custody of her French mother amidst her soul-scathing pleadings to be allowed to stay with her father, a Pakistani. Legally, it may be the right decision. Justice may have been done. Nonetheless, on this case, the question is: how could the matter be expedited to the level of expediency.A report quoted counsel for Amna’s father as claiming that there was government pressure in this matter. He said the French Embassy had written a letter to the IG Punjab on 12 July 2010 in which it was stated that during President Zardari’s visit to France, President Sarkozy had raised the issue of Amna and the responsibility to solve the matter was given to Interior Minister Rehman Malik. True or not, it’s not the subject of this discourse.Anyone who has ever been to a foreign country could endorse the following lines. Foreign lands don’t discriminate on the basis of cast, creed and colour. But this generally is a superficial understanding. People have been booed and assaulted merely for appearances. Deep down, immigrants are often treated second-grade citizens in the dreamed worlds. But ours is perhaps the only country where Pakistanis are treated second grade. Let’s not discuss the heads handed over to the foreign masters on mere suspicions. It’s not this discourse.Every living soul in this country would subscribe to the feeling that no child could be handed over to one parent against their will. Some may however cite the Guardians and Wards Act 1890, the law that is invoked to resolve child custody issues in Pakistan. Amongst the many cases decided, a six-year-old girl was handed over to the Tajik mother and a nine-year-old boy was given to his French mother back in 2009 and 2010 by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. While mothers are given preference in deciding custody issues, the law encapsulates that a child’s welfare should outstay all other considerations.But the point in question is not just legal, it is very much humanitarian as a child’s custody against his or her will can have psychological ramifications. If a child is given in one parent’s custody against his or her will, emotional trauma cannot be ruled out for the child. The courts should need to view such consideration (of child welfare) while deciding custody matters. Perhaps, a new law, or an amend, that allows both parents to share custody on rotation with visiting rights for the non-custody parent could be a way forward.In the case of Amna, like many other children born to parents of different nationalities, the problem gets even worse as immigration and travel laws can sometimes make visiting a child in the other parent’s custody almost impossible. In such cases, courts need to tread more carefully. Without mincing words, it seems this aspect has not be given enough thought in Amna’s case.A report a while ago revealed that Amna’s mother has taken her to France, while her father is yet coping with the shock, let alone preparing for an appeal in the Supreme Court. –Contributed by Muhammad Ali
