HARIPUR: Search launched for father defying court - Children's custody case
HARIPUR, Oct 1: The local police have launched a search for a British national of Pakistani origin, Tanveer Ahmad, in connection with the removal of his two children from the UK without the court permission.
District and Sessions Judge Sahibzada Khursheed Khattak issued arrest warrants of Mr Ahmad on Sept 28 after he failed to appear before his court along with the two children. The court had directed him to produce the children - Kamil Ahmad and Ansa Ahmad - so that they could be sent to the UK in accordance with the directives of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The court had directed the local police to arrest Mr Ahmad and produce him along with the children on Oct 9. It is learnt that the police raided the residence of Mr Ahmad at Kalabut township on different occasions but failed to trace him out.
Mr Ahmad is locked in a dispute with his former wife, Pretiben Deepak Nandha, who is British national of Indian origin. He has also filed a writ petition before the Peshawar High Court's circuit bench in Abbotabad, which would be taken up for preliminary hearing on Oct 5.
He has requested the high court to stay the shifting of his children to UK. On Sep 28, a letter was also faxed to the district and sessions judge by Joan Ferguson & Co. Solicitors Manchester, which is looking after the case of Ms Nandha.
In the letter the firm had stated that Mr Ahmad had concealed various facts from the court and had removed the children, who are UK nationals, to Pakistan in an illegal manner. The solicitor had earlier sent to the Supreme Court, a court judgment of the Judge Rum bellow QC sitting as High Court Judge (dated June 30, 2004).
The court had validated the decision of June 23, 2004 of a family court Manchester, which states that the two children were habitually resident in England and Wales at the time they were removed from the UK and that they are British citizens, having been born and domiciled in the UK.
The law firm stated that Ms Nandha had no intention to leave for India from the UK or to shift the children to India. Tanveer Ahmad, son of Lt-Col (retired) Mohammad Aslam Khan, told Dawn that he went to England in mid 90s and obtained British nationality.
He got married to Ms Nandha when she was an illegal immigrant in 1997 and apparently facilitated her becoming British national. He claimed that she also converted to Islam and her Islamic name was Yasmeen Ahmad.
About the reasons behind their soared marital relations, Mr Ahmad said that in June 2004 Nandha secretly married, without getting divorce from him, to one illegal Pakistani immigrant, Anjum Shahzad Malik, from Punjab who was real brother of Nandha's Pakistani friend, Shabana.
He said that two months back her third husband Mr Malik was deported from London and Nandha was imprisoned for three months for deception and harbouring an illegal immigrant in her house.
He claimed that after developing differences she moved the family court for the custody of children, which decided that the couple could keep the children for three days in a week each. But during the three months period of their separation she planned to leave London for India on June 28, but on getting information he managed to bring his children to Pakistan.