In what could be a win for Afghan refugees living in the province, a court on Thursday stopped the police from harassing a national who had married a local woman and had children in Pakistan.
This was directed by a two-judge bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Muhammad Ayub Khan, as it heard a petition filed by an Afghan national Maulvi Abdul Haq, a resident of Rustam in Mardan.
Haq’s counsel Salim Raza argued that his client has been living peacefully in the country for the several decades and is a prayer leader at a local mosque.
He added that Haq had married a Pakistani woman from the village he lives in. The two also had children in the wedlock who were born in Pakistan. Hence, Raza argued, his client has the right to be allowed to the live in the country.
“The police are harassing my client without any reason,” the lawyer told the court. “He has all the rights to live in Pakistan as his wife is a Pakistani national whilst their children were also born in Pakistan.” He added that no law can forcibly separate a married couple.
Chief Justice Afridi and Justice Ayub Khan subsequently directed the police to stop harassing the prayer leader.
