ISLAMABAD, June 19: A Syrian national who left his homeland in 2005 due to political instability and took asylum in Pakistan has lost his daughter allegedly to his Pakistani in-laws.

Mohammad Waeil Ayoubi, the Syrian national has filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the recovery of his 6-year-old daughter, Rehma Ayoubi.

The IHC Justice Mohammad Azim Khan Afridi on Tuesday while hearing his petition issued notices to secretary interior, inspector general police Islamabad, petitioner’s wife Iraj Ayoubi, father-in-law Mazhar Sami Khan, mother-in-law Mehrun Nisa and sister-in-law Bushra Mazhar.

Dr Babar Awan, the petitioner’s counsel told the court that his client was a businessman and had been doing business in Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia since 1999.

He further said the petitioner married a Pakistani woman Iraj in December 2005 and was blessed with a baby girl named Rehma in October 2006.

In the following years, Ayoubi planned his return to Syria along with his family and with their consent prepared the travel documents, advocate Awan said and added, his in-laws however refused to send his wife and daughter with him to Syria and started creating hurdles for the petitioner and got registered some fake cases against him.

He added that petitioner’s in-laws snatched his daughter and tried to separate his wife from him. They, in connivance with the general manager of petitioner’s company – Amjad Iqbal Bhatti, allegedly committed a criminal breach of trust and detained him in Adiala Jail in a false case but the petitioner, somehow, managed to be free again.

Advocate Awan asserted that Ayoubi was desperately searching for his lost daughter and had also filed several applications with senior police officials including IG, SSP, and the SHO Kohsar police station for her recovery but to no avail.

He requested the court to direct the respondents to produce his missing daughter in the court and sought giving her custody to the petitioner.