In today’s hearing, psychiatrist Dr Fatima Riaz who examined the Karachi teengar appeared before the court. She told the presiding judge that she was receiving death threats from the Sindh women’s welfare minister.

I was given drugs to make me mentally ill, Dr Riaz told the court while accusing PPP minister Shehla Raza of death threats.

The psychologist also submitted her report in a sealed envelope

Sindh Health Department’s Faiz Mangi told the court that another psychiatrist, one Dr Uzma, had also examined the teen and didn’t receive any threats.

He added that the department could have the psychiatrist in question changed instead of resorting to death threats.

Meanwhile, the girl’s father Mehdi Kazmi requested the constitution of a medical board comprising senior doctors.

Background

The teenager was reported missing from her home in Karachi in mid-April.

Later, she was traced to Bahawalnagar and the police learned that she was married to 21-year-old Zaheer Ahmed, who she had met while playing the popular online game PUBG.

The couple was produced in the Sindh High Court, where the court ruled that the teenager could stay with whoever she wanted, before sending her to a shelter home. After that, the girl’s parents approached the Supreme Court and challenged the decision of the Sindh High Court.

The Supreme Court disposed of the case after instructing the plaintiffs to approach the relevant forum.

You can read details of the developments in the case in our special report here.